


An Emperor's Lies

by LiaoftheDawn



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: College, Comedy, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Loser Akashi, Love at First Sight, M/M, Near Future, Post-Canon, Slow Burn, it's basically akashi being a loser extravaganzza
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-27
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-07-10 13:28:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 28,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6986980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiaoftheDawn/pseuds/LiaoftheDawn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What Akashi Seijuurou actually needs is someone to help him figure out his own feelings. What he actually gets is someone to teach him Biology -which isn't even his major, by the way- because how else was he going to get Furihata Kouki's attention?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. All words lost

**Author's Note:**

> This is my Loser Akashi Magnum Opus, I hope y'all are ready for thousands upon thousands of words of Akashi being an irredeemable loser. It's gonna be fun, I promise.

"Honestly, Sei-chan, I will never understand this passion of yours for 'normal' things. You could pay for the most prestigious chef in the prefecture to make your meals and instead we're stuck with the cheap stuff from the cafeteria. You have no sense of taste whatsoever."

Seijuurou didn't reply, simply picking up his food tray from the bar while ignoring the dirty looks the cook was sending in their direction. Reo truly knew nothing of tact. Out of all his teammates –both from Teikou and Rakuzan- Reo was the only one that ended in the same college as him, which had led to them spending a lot of time together, even if they didn't share any classes. Not that he would complain, he quite enjoyed Reo's company, but his lack of discretion had caused them trouble on more than one occasion. He honestly hoped the cook wouldn't poison their food next time.

As was the norm for lunch time, the cafeteria was crowded way beyond its capacity and the noise of loud chatter and laughter echoed in the walls. Seijuurou, never a fan of crowds and noisy places, started towards the glass doors that led to the much quieter terrace.

Before he could take three steps, something –or rather, someone- crashed into him and fell backwards with a painful thud, almost making him lose his balance. He was able to keep himself standing by sheer willpower, but he involuntarily loosened his grip on his food tray, making it fall from his grasp and atop the stranger's head.

"Ooww, ouch, ouch." The man on the ground whined, rubbing his tailbone. "Ouch, sorry, I wasn't paying attention, man that HURTS." He had short brown hair, now splattered with Seijuurou's lost meal, but his face was obscured by his short bangs. "Uhm, I-I'll pay for your food, I'm really sorry-oooowww."

Seijuurou bowed and extended his hand towards the man. "No, I must apologize too, I should have been more aware of my surroundings." It was not often that people crashed into him. Even if the other party wasn't looking at where they were going, he was usually very much aware of everything happening around him and most of the time had no problem dodging other people with ease.

"Money won't be a problem, do not—" he was cut mid-sentence when the stranger, who had grabbed his hand to help himself back on his feet, looked up and met his ruby eyes with a sparkling chocolate pair. His breath got caught in his throat and he found it incredibly difficult to say any other word. The skin of his hand tingled.

"I, u-uhm, I…" He tried, aghast by his sudden lack of eloquence. Nope. No words were coming out. None at all.

The other's eyes widened when they met his and he scrambled back up (to Seijuurou's surprise, the man was taller than him), shaking the food remnants from his clothes nervously. "No, really, I insist, it's the least I can do." He squeaked nervously, pulling out his wallet. "It was the C Menu, right?" he added, rushedly pulling out a thousand-yen note and thrusting it on Seijuurou's palm. "I'm really, really sorry, I'm running really late. Sorry again." He blurted out before dashing off.

He wanted to say something, he wasn't really sure of what, but his throat was stubbornly tied in a tight knot, so all he could do was stare at his hand that had been holding the other's until a few seconds ago, and contemplate on the warm and fuzzy feeling the contact had left behind.

"Reo…" he managed to breathe out, although his voice didn't sound like his at all "Who was that?"

His friend seemed surprised by the question, but he replied immediately. "You don't remember, Sei-chan? Well, I guess it's normal since he wasn't a regular… he's that Chihuahua boy from Seirin, what was his name?"

"Furihata." He replied instantly "Furihata Kouki."

He remembered Furihata Kouki. They had played many games against each other in their last year –he _had_ become a regular after Izuki Shun's graduation-, and although Furihata could never match Seijuurou's skill, he would be lying if he said he hadn't taken notice of the boy's determination and unwillingness to give up. He even remembered their first game as clear as day, how the boy had been so utterly terrified of him he had fallen face first on the floor, not three seconds after entering the court. He also remembered how, although the fear had never left his features, Furihata had kept on facing him with as much willpower and determination as he could muster. He'd always thought the boy possessed an odd sort of courage that the found admirable.

But was that man that had stolen his breath away the same Furihata Kouki? It was true that a few years had gone by, and it was also true that Furihata had never been… _unkind to the eye_ , so to speak, but…

"I didn't know he was in this school though, and dear me, I never expected that boy to become such a hottie."

Seijuurou clenched his fingers around the one-thousand-yen note. Sometimes Reo was too unawaredly competent when it came to voicing Seijuurou's feelings –especially in words Seijuurou himself would not be caught dead using-. He swallowed the lump in his throat and finally willed his heart to its normal rate.

"Reo, am I correct in assuming you still know virtually every person in this campus?"

His friend didn't seem to be following his train of thought, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Get me Furihata Kouki's contact information."

 

* * *

 

Kouki's phone buzzed while he was studying at the library. He'd forgotten to mute it, and some other students shot him a dirty look. The screen showed an unidentified number, but he picked up nonetheless, thinking it could be someone he knew using a borrowed phone for an emergency or something of the sort. He pressed the green button and placed his phone next to his ear.

 

 

"Hello? This is Furihata."

 

 

All he could hear from the other end of the line was white noise and faint breathing. A couple of times he thought he heard something, as if someone was trying to speak but decided not to. After a full minute of eerie silence, he shut the phone away.

 

* * *

 

Seijuurou heard the line click shut and he stared at his phone, not sure if he was more shocked that someone had hung up the phone on him, or just bewildered at himself for being completely incapable of speaking once he'd heard Furihata's voice and pictured his face in his mind.

He would need a different plan for this.

 

* * *

 

A few hours after that strange call, his phone buzzed again, but this time, it was an email. His eyes widened when he read the sender's address, and, with slightly trembling fingers, proceeded to read the content.

 

 

 

_Hello, I am Akashi Seijuurou. We crashed into each other on the cafeteria two days ago. Meet me so I can give back your change._

 

* * *

 

Seijuurou breathed heavily, his hands shaking way too erratically for comfort. He stared at the phone, going over the words in the email over and over inside his head. Had they been too formal? Too vague? Too casual? Too commanding? Maybe too awkward? Had he crossed a line by obtaining his email address without his permission? Would Furihata Kouki even care about the 246 yen he was using as an excuse? Would he want to meet him? Had he forgotten about him? His hands were shaking so much he almost dropped his phone.

The device buzzed in his fingers, and this time, he did drop it. He rushed to pick it up, not sure of why he was so excited, and hoping the phone hadn't been damaged by the fall. He could tell Reo was doing an enormous effort not to laugh, but Seijuurou did not find this situation funny in any way.

On the screen there was a short message: _I'm at the library, is it OK to meet in the study area?_

After staring at his phone for about ten straight minutes, typing and erasing every possible reply he could think of, he finally sent a short " _I'll be there_ ". Before his brain could start agonizing about the propriety of that reply (definitely too vague, should've at least said how long it'll be, took too long to reply), he shut the phone off, grabbed his belongings and rushed towards the promised location.

He briefly pondered about sending another message indicating he was in the opposite side of campus and would take at least ten more minutes to get there, but he realized his mental disarray was such that it would take him twice that time just to write said message and decided against it, hoping Furihata wouldn't get tired of waiting.

 

* * *

 

Kouki took another glance at the time on his phone screen. Akashi hadn't mentioned how long he would take, but given the brevity of his response, he'd imagined he wasn't too far away. Maybe this was just a mean joke and Akashi had never tried to contact him in the first place. For all he knew, the email address " " could be fake. He shook his head. Why would anyone prank him with Akashi's name? Besides, who else other than Akashi (and Mibuchi that had been with him at the time) knew about the money he'd had to pay for Akashi's spoilt meal? He hadn't really expected to get the change back, but if Akashi had offered to give it, he wasn't going to complain. 200 yen may not change his life, but he could at least buy an extra pack of Pocky to keep him awake long enough to finish tomorrow's assignment.

After glancing at his phone yet again, he noticed lightly rushed steps coming in his direction and he looked up to find Akashi and Mibuchi walking towards him. He waved at them, feeling a little nervous, and, once they noticed where he was, Mibuchi stopped walking and only Akashi continued to approach him.

"I apologize for my tardiness." Akashi said as a way of greeting.

Kouki waved his hand dismissively. "It's okay, I haven't been here long either." He smiled pleasantly as he stood from his chair, looking down to meet the Akashi's ruby eyes. Akashi was shorter than him now, he noted, even if only by a centimeter or so. You really didn't have to go through all this trouble, Akashi-kun." He added, still smiling.

To his surprise, Akashi's calm demeanor seemed to shift ever the slightest when their eyes met. He couldn't quite tell _how_ it was different, or _why_ , but he had no doubt that _something_ had changed.

 

* * *

 

"I-I uhm…"

 

This was absolutely ridiculous. There was no reason for him to lose his voice this way whenever he faced Furihata Kouki, and yet that was exactly what was happening. He tried to remind himself of the excuse he'd used to get Furihata's attention and quickly pulled out the eight coins he'd specifically prepared for the encounter from his pocket. Scrambling to proceed in a way that would not ruin his reputation, he extended his hand with the coins and pressed it softly to Furihata's, who extended his palm in reaction. Their fingers brushed against each other briefly, making an electric shock run through Seijuurou's spine.

"246 yen. I apologize for the tardiness." He said mechanically, and he was mildly surprised that he was able to even pronounce those words when his brain was very clearly –if inexplicably- short-circuiting.

Furihata beamed as his fingers curled around the coins. "Thanks, you really shouldn't have bothered for something so meaningless." His chocolate eyes were sparkling and his cheeks were tinted a light pink.

It briefly crossed Seijuurou's mind that Furihata had not been this tall in high school. At least never tall enough that he'd have to look up to meet his sparkling eyes. He wasn't very sure of how he felt about it, if he ought to feel anything about something so trivial at all.

He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, hoping to get some words out, and being completely unsuccessful in his endeavor. He noticed how Furihata's expression morphed to one of confusion and he cocked his head lightly. With that expression he looked a lot more like the Furihata that Seijuurou remembered. Not the one that stole his breath away, just the one that seemed to effortlessly catch his eye from time to time, for reasons unknown.

And yet, even with such an expression on Furihata's face, Seijuurou couldn't quite catch his breath again.

"Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

 

"A-a-ah I…"

 

This was hopeless. He couldn't even think of a coherent sentence and he could tell from Furihata's expression that he was making a complete fool of himself. Why had he even wanted to get in touch with Furihata in the first place?

"Alright, I'm gonna have to stop you before Sei-chan suffers a stroke."

He felt someone hook their arm on his. Reo, judging by the voice. His friend's presence seemed to clear his brain just a little, but not enough to protest or say anything.

"Don't worry, Furihata-chan, we'll be in touch." Reo said with a playful wink before dragging him out of the library.

 

* * *

 

"S-s-sure" Kouki replied as he watched the almighty Akashi Seijuurou being dragged like a punished child by his companion. He scratched the back of his head in confusion and looked down at the coins he had received, still not completely sure of what exactly had just happened.

 

* * *

 

"Why would you do that?" Seijuurou protested, finally finding his voice again. "I was having a conversation!" He knew that was categorically untrue, but he felt too embarrassed already to admit that he'd been making a very sorry spectacle of himself.

Reo quirked one eyebrow, clearly unamused by his tantrum. "Sei-chan" he began, placing both of his hands on his hips "You should be thanking me for keeping you from further embarrassing yourself. That poor boy looked terrified, and with good reason. You were blabbering incoherencies and breathing heavily for five minutes straight. Honestly, if I didn't know you, I would've thought you were a creeper" he cocked his head and frowned slightly. "Just what happened to you?"

Seijuurou sighed and plopped down to the nearest seat. Reo had brought him to his favorite coffee shop, so he was probably expecting to receive a reward for saving him from public humiliation. "I do not know myself. Something like this had never happened to me. I had never found myself in a situation in which I could not think of the right words to use. It is quite puzzling, if I must say so."

Reo pursed his lips and tilted his hips slightly. "Sei-chan, are you crushing on that Chihuahua boy?"

Seijuurou swallowed, suddenly feeling his mouth a little dry. "I would not call it a… 'crush' but… you said it yourself the other day uhm…" that oddly familiar face and its bright smile popped at the front of his mind. "He is uhm… _somewhat_ attractive." Dashingly handsome would be a more accurate rendition of his current feelings, but he felt a little too embarrassed to admit that much.

Reo rolled his eyes and moaned melodramatically. "You truly have no sense of taste, Sei-chan."

He frowned, immediately catching the underlying message. "Excuse me?" he glared dangerously at his friend, not pleased with the insinuation.

"Don't get me wrong, that boy is quite a hottie, _especially_ compared to how he was before but it's like… averagely so? Not to mention how he's so mild-mannered and cute, he just doesn't really suit you, Sei-chan, you'd be more—"

"Reo. It would be in your best interest to stop talking right now."

He wasn't sure of why it upset him so much to hear Reo badmouthing Furihata. Outside of matches, he didn't know the man that well; they had barely exchanged a handful of words over their three years of high school (132 to be precise, if he counted all the "Have a good game" and "Thanks for the game" that were not specifically directed at each other, but for some reason he wanted to count them).

"Gee, alright, Sei-chan, if you like him that much…"

It was an odd thing to find himself in this position. He had never felt this sort of physical attraction towards other people. He wasn't even certain that this blossoming infatuation was purely a thing of the flesh. It wasn't as if this was the first time he noticed Furihata Kouki. Back in their high school days, even when he had not been himself, that boy had stricken a strange nerve inside him, one he didn't know existed. There was a lasting impression in the back of his mind, of that boy with the average looks and the average skills and the extraordinary determination, but he'd never reflected much upon it, much less reacted accordingly. Every time his gaze had lingered on Furihata Kouki, he'd told himself it was due to the same interest he felt towards Tetsuya, a simple admiration for hard work and unrelenting dedication to the sport. Of course, he didn't keep count of the words he'd exchanged with Tetsuya like he did with Furihata, but surely that was due to the fact that he'd had plenty of conversations with him, thus counting words would have been a trivial activity.

The Furihata of that time had definitely not been unpleasant to look at, -he would even dare call him 'charming'-, but he could've said similar things about other people. Ryouta was undeniably attractive, and Shintarou had always possessed a sort of graceful beauty. Tetsuya too, was quite endearing in his own way. Which is just to say that Seijuurou had never been blind to the aesthetics of the human anatomy, but he had always been overall unaffected by them. So even if the thought of Furihata Kouki's fairness ever crossed his mind, he attributed it to an ordinary appreciation of fortunate bodily proportions. At the time, he was much too busy to ponder on something so seemingly insignificant.

Things were different now. Furihata Kouki had changed in the three years since they had last met. They had exchanged 176 words over their two encounters (if he counted the failed phone call and the messages, but not his pathetic stuttering), already more than they had during their entire high school life. And Furihata Kouki was no longer _just_ 'charming' not even 'captivating'. He was devastatingly, breathtakingly beautiful. Thinking of him made his mouth go dry, his throat tighten and his heart beat faster than it should. The feeling was not entirely unpleasant, but it was quite alien for him and he wasn't sure of how to respond to it.

"Sei-chan, if you're going to be staring at space for three hours, at least buy me a cappuccino."

He used the time it took Reo to get his coffee to reflect upon his future actions. Because he _had_ to take some sort of action now. He hadn't done so in the past –he hadn't felt it was necessary- but the emotions he was experiencing now were too strong to simply ignore them. The first thing to do was obviously to try and get closer to Furihata Kouki –would he dare call him the object of his affections? No, it was too soon for that-, but that would prove difficult, if not completely impossible if he couldn't even form a coherent sentence in his presence.

When his friend was finally back and happily sipping on his drink, he looked up, determined to do something about this.

"Reo, I will be requiring your assistance."

He loathe to admit that there was something he could not master in just one attempt, but if he got too preoccupied with something as petty as pride, he would never get anywhere. If his encounters with Kouki so far –and how terribly incompetent he'd been in each and every one of them- were anything to go by, he would need astounding amounts of help to overcome the obstacle that was how unsettled he became in Furihata's vicinity. He could trust that Reo was knowledgeable in the matter and would keep the teasing about his social inadequacies to a tolerable minimum.

His friend winked. "Anything for you, Sei-chan."

 

* * *

 

"You would be Furihata Kouki, I presume."

Startled, Kouki turned to look to where the voice came from. Akashi Seijuurou was standing there, his arms crossed over his chest, his face betraying no emotion.

"Y-yeah, that'd be me." It seemed an odd way of greeting. This was the third time they met in the past two weeks, and they knew each other from high school, so why was Akashi acting like this was the first time they ever saw each other? Had he entirely forgotten about his existence? Maybe he hadn't even recognized him the last two times and was just now realizing who he was. He felt a little bit stupid for overthinking this kind of thing. "How can I help you?"

"It has come to my attention that you are one of the top students in the Life Sciences Department."

He blushed, lightly. It wasn't a lie –he'd ranked fourth overall in the last midterms-, and he'd made a damn good effort to get those results (he'd pretty much cried blood over his textbooks at some point). He was proud of his achievement, especially since it was the first time he actually accomplished something like this in his life. But being quietly proud about it and having people pointing it out to his face were two completely different matters. He wasn't really sure of how to deal with all the sudden praise, whether he should just nod and say 'thank you' (but wouldn't that be too arrogant?), or maybe act all bashful and say it wasn't that big a deal (but that sounded arrogant too).

"Uhm… yeah, you could say so. Others did better than me, though."

Akashi, who was no longer looking at him, waved his hand dismissively.

"That is irrelevant. There is a favour I would like to ask of you, if you don't mind."

Kouki tilted his head in curiosity. His previous nervousness was forgotten in favor of genuine interest. What could the mighty Akashi Seijuurou want from him? Was there really anything he could offer to one that seemed to have it all?

"Eh, sure, if it's something I can do."

For a moment, it seemed like Akashi's lips curved slightly upwards.

 

 

"I would like you to tutor me."

 

 

 

"Hah?"


	2. Details make a good Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akashi Seijuurou is a very detail-oriented person. This comes in handy when it's time to concoct a lie to convince Furihata to tutor him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you thought you'd seen Akashi at his most loser moment, you better buckle cos this isn't even my final form

Akashi smiled to himself, pleased with how everything was going according to plan. He had been right in trusting Reo's advice.

" _For starters, Sei-chan, you should have a general idea of what you want to say, that way even if you become a mess you can at least try to relay a simplified message."_

And he _was_ a mess. His brain was positively _not working_. If he hadn't practiced his lines in front of the mirror this morning, he would be a blabbering disgrace by this point. Keep the message simple and straightforward. 'I want you to tutor me.'

" _Second, you should think of something that could give you an excuse to meet again without letting on to your intentions, especially while you figure out what you really want to do with the Chihuahua boy. The thing you did with the change was good. You need something like that."_

He had done extensive research on the subject and balanced many possibilities. Everything from borrowing money, to 'forgetting' one of his possessions in Kouki's vicinity, to 'accidentally' switching their jackets. But his past experience with the money had taught him that, once he delivered the item he'd used as an excuse, his brain completely blanked out. He needed to find something that would help him strike a conversation.

" _You could use something you normally feel comfortable talking about. I mean, if you tried to talk about videogames or movies you wouldn't know much of what to say, right? But if you talk about something you're more confident about, it should be a lot easier. Maybe basketball, you have that in common, right?"_

True, if there was something he could share with someone so diametrally opposite to him as Furihata Kouki, that would be basketball. But how could he use basketball as an excuse to meet him more regularly? He didn't even know if Kouki still played. Asking him to play one-on-ones could make his partner think he was just using him as a diversion, or even mocking him. Randomly volunteering to give him lessons would give away his intentions immediately and come off as overconfident and condescending. Getting tickets for a basketball venue could be a good option, but Kouki would surely wonder why he was inviting him instead of, say, Reo, who followed him everywhere, or any of his other close friends. No, basketball was not the answer to this predicament.

The other things he was confident about were shogi –of which Kouki surely knew nothing-, and academia. And there he found his answer.

"B-b-but why would Akashi-kun need my tutoring, I thought you got perfect scores on everything…?"

This was a completely expected question, and he'd prepared a flawless contingency plan to answer it. He pretended to rummage through his handbag so that it wouldn't be too obvious that everything up to this point had been prepared with absolute precision, and produced a sheet of paper which he placed at Furihata's eye level.

"It is embarrassing to admit, but I may have gotten overconfident in my academic proficiency. I had expected college-level classes to not pose that much of a bigger hurdle than high school ones, but I was sourly mistaken." He was most pleased to see Furihata's eyes widen in surprise and mild horror as he scanned the piece of paper, a midterm exam with an alarmingly low amount of points. Of course, he wasn't taking any of Furihata's classes –much less failing them-, he wasn't even in the same department . The exam, he had bought it from another student and then used his own computer skills to overlap his name on top, a simple task that was sure to dissipate any doubts about his urgent need for academic assistance. But Furihata didn't need to know any of that, and hopefully if/when he found out, he would appreciate all the efforts he had gone through just to get closer to him.

"Of course I would give you a proper monetary compensation for your services. Would ten thousand per hour suffice?" He added when he thought Furihata might be hesitating on his offer.

Furihata looked up at him and shook his head in refusal. Seijuurou's heart sank. "No, no, that won't be necessary! If it's this much I suppose I could give you a hand, you don't have to pay me or anything."

In a deep corner of his mind he roared triumphantly. He could insist on the compensation at a later date, he firmly believed in paying his dues to those who provided him with a product or service. For the time being, he simply nodded, leaving those victorious exclamations to remain inside his mind only. Containing his emotions was another thing he was confident about.

It was then that he realized he hadn't quite planned what to say once Kouki agreed to his proposal. Perhaps a small part of him had assumed he would refuse since, after all, there was no reason Kouki should lend his help to someone he barely knew and that had treated him poorly in the past. Before Reo had to drag him away in a shameful mess of unintelligible gibberish, he rushedly blabbered that they would settle down the details at a later date and dashed out of the classroom.

Later that night, Seijuurou was staring intently at his phone, Furihata's number shining on the screen. His hands trembled lightly. His last attempt to call Furihata had resulted in utter and absolute failure and he was unsure of whether he would manage himself better this time. He looked up at Reo, who gave him a thumbs up and he pressed the call button.

The line beeped twice and clicked.

" _This is Furihata_."

Seijuurou froze up. He didn't know what it was about Furihata's voice in the phone that made it really hard to think straight. He actually found it harder to speak with him on the phone than in person. Perhaps it was the fact that he sounded so close, almost as if he were whispering in his ear, in a strangely intimate way that he found unexpectedly pleasant.

" _Hello? Is anybody there?_ "

He opened his mouth and managed to produce an odd guttural sound but nothing more. He looked at Reo again, slightly panicked, and was surprised to see his friend holding a small whiteboard with words written on it. It took him a few seconds to understand, but he finally read the words out loud.

"Hello. This is Akashi Seijuurou."

Reo gave him another thumbs up and started wiping the text away.

" _Oh, Akashi-kun! I didn't have your number so I didn't know it was you."_

His eyes quickly searched for the whiteboard and the words Reo had written on it.

"I was calling so we could settle on the details of our previous agreement."

" _Ah, sure, of course. I have classes all day on Monday and Thursday and I work part-time on Saturday, but any other day I'm free after lunch time. When's good for you?"_

He mouthed at Reo asking when he had free time on his schedule because for the life of him he could not possibly remember what classes he was taking, let alone when or whatever other commitments he might have. Reo mouthed back at him and he parroted it to the phone while his friend rushed to write something.

"H-hold on a moment."

In his nervousness, he didn't even stop to consider the words written on the whiteboard and just read them out loud without thinking.

"Sunday 's when you meet your fath-"he bit his tongue. "I mean, _I,_ _ **I**_ can not make it on Sunday, but any other day should be alright." He wanted to slap himself in the forehead. What a pathetic display he was making. Reo looked like he was having a stroke from second-hand embarrassment.

" _Great! So is it okay if we start on Tuesday? The sooner the better?_ " Furihata's voice came light and cheerful, so wonderfully well-intentioned and blissfully unaware of the storm going on in Seijuurou's head.

Seijuurou nodded furiously, momentarily forgetting that the other man could not see him, and incapable of uttering even the extremely simple word he should.

Reo's eyes widened in disbelief and he quickly wrote a short sentence on the board.

"Yes, that would be fine."

" _Alright! So where do you want us to meet? Normally the library or the study room would be fine, but I don't think we can properly talk and discuss things there, and maybe the cafeteria is too loud to study… uh… we could use my place but it would be really cramped and I have a roommate who could interrupt us… uhm, do you have any ideas?"_

His nostrils flared. He had considered this possibility, maybe even hoped for it to come to happen, but now that the opportunity was right in front of him, he was, as expected, completely incapable of forming a coherent thought. He looked at Reo and was surprised to see his friend had foreseen the direction of the conversation and written an according response.

"I have a single room in the dormitories. It is not far from campus, so if it were fine by you, we could meet here."

Furihata chuckled, making some bubbles burst in Seijuurou's stomach. " _I didn't know Akashi-kun lived in the dorms too, that's quite a coincidence._ "

"Uh… uh-huh…"

" _Okay, so we're settled then. Send me your building and room number and I'll meet you there on Tuesday at… would six in the afternoon be alright?_ "

"Y-yes… yes that would uh… be alright…" Why had Reo stopped writing? Hadn't he realized that even these extremely simple phrases were absurdly difficult to come up with in his current state of mind?

" _Cool, I'll see you then_."

His brain was telling him it was time to use a basic good-bye phrase, but that same brain refused to provide him with one. 'I'll look forward to it'? No, too obvious. 'Sure, see you'? Too casual. 'Good-bye'? Too formal. 'Farewell'? Too ominous. And now he'd been quiet for too long and Furihata would definitely discover what a disaster he was. He looked at Reo, who still seemed a little in disbelief, but mouthed something he could repeat at the phone.

"See you on Tuesday."

" _Sure, bye!_ "

The line clicked shut.

"Seriously, Sei-chan, sometimes I just don't know what to do with you."

He didn't pay any mind to his friend's words, relishing in the fluttery feeling blossoming in his chest. A small smile pulled at the corners of Seijuurou's lips. Tuesday. Tuesday was barely one weekend away.

* * *

The doorbell rang. A shot of electricity ran up Seijuurou's spine and he felt just the slightest bit of panic. He double-checked that all of his preparations were in order. The room was spotless, the tea was perfectly brewed (and he had a back-up array of many different drinks), all the textbooks he would require were on the table –properly worn down as if he had used them intensively- and he had also purchased a wide variety of "casual" snacks, just in case. Before going to the door, he went to the bathroom mirror, fixed his hair and made sure his appearance was polished but relaxed, his clothes were clean and fresh, proper for a man of his stature, but seemingly effortless. Furihata didn't need to know he had spent the last three hours contemplating on what to wear. He stared at his own face and quickly went over the stock sentences he'd been practicing in case he ran out of things to say or his Broca's area decided to shut down. He was in his home and Reo was not around to pull him away if he happened to embarrass himself, he could not afford any failure. He had also prepared a carefully thought repertoire of essential questions he could ask when Furihata asked what exactly was he having trouble with, all of them meticulously designed to make it seem like he understood the essentials but had trouble with specific, complex details; after all, he did not wish to be deemed as hopelessly stupid by Furihata. Everything was perfectly planned and prepared, there was no room for errors.

Once he was certain the situation was under the control, he walked to the door and opened it, willing his trembling fingers to still.

"Oh, hello Akashi-kun."

Furihata Kouki greeted him with a smile. Seijuurou took in his appearance: he must be the human embodiment of effortless beauty. He was wearing a black t-shirt with a v-neck that allowed him a privileged view of his collarbones (and he would be lying if he said he had never paid attention to those collarbones and how small drops of sweat would pool on them during a match) and bold, white letters spelling out one of those English nonsensical phrases that foreigners made fun of, but Seijuurou would not dare point such a thing out. His jeans were dark blue and fit loosely around his legs –that Seijuurou remembered to be long and slim- but hugged his hips tightly. He was carrying his schoolbag over one shoulder, and he held a coral red cardigan draped over his forearm.

Stock phrases, he told himself, as his Broca's area failed him much faster than he'd expected it to.

"Thank you for coming, I apologize for making you come all the way here to help me."

Kouki's smile morphed into a laid-back grin. "Don't worry, it's not a bother at all. It's not that far anyway, I'm just two buildings away. Sorry for the intrusion."

* * *

In all honesty, Kouki still wasn't entirely sure of what to make of this whole situation. It was already strange enough that, of all the people in the world, he'd happened to run into Akashi Seijuurou himself. He didn't even know they were in the same university, let alone the same department. It almost seemed absurd they had never crossed paths in the past three years, especially considering their dorm-room buildings were so close. But that Akashi had actually requested something from him? That was beyond any of his wildest imaginations.

As Akashi guided him inside, he stopped for a moment to admire the spacious room. He'd known Building A had the best bedrooms, but this too was far more impressive than he could've imagined. Calling it a 'room' seemed like a disservice, considering it had a kitchen, dining room and living room, and the latter connected to a long hallway that he assumed led to the bedroom and bathroom. He wouldn't be surprised if Akashi's bathroom alone was bigger than the twin room he shared with a guy from Engineering (Shikitani-kun) in Building C.

Akashi showed him to the living room and asked him to sit by a large coffee table with half a dozen books neatly piled on top. He scanned over their titles and was satisfied to see that Akashi had –as expected- all the essential textbooks. Knowing this, he found it all the more puzzling that a gifted man like him could be having troubles with any of his classes.

"Could I offer you something to drink? I am just finished brewing tea, but if you prefer water, coffee or soda I can get that for you."

"Tea's okay, thanks."

It had not escaped his notice that Akashi was acting different than how he remembered. Granted, he'd never gotten that close to him, they had barely exchanged a handful of words in all their three years of high school, but his aura seemed completely different now. He didn't seem the same confident, intimidating man that had once been the captain of the fearsome Generation of Miracles. Although he still kept his flawless composure, sophisticated speech and that regal aura that made him an undoubted leader, he also felt… nervous, perhaps even a little fidgety and tense. When in high school, he had never seen Akashi stutter or lose his voice, but now it seemed to happen fairly often –sometimes he had even seemed out of breath- and it was quite a bewildering sight to behold. He wondered if something had happened to him in the last three years, but he imagined it would be strange to ask.

Akashi came back a moment later holding two steaming cups and handing one to him. The tea had a gentle, relaxing aroma, and even as ignorant as he was when it came to the quality of tea leaves, he could tell this was on a completely different league from the 100 yen boxes he got from the convenience store.

"Thank you once again for agreeing to help me and making time for this, I deeply appreciate it."

There was also a different sort of gentleness in Akashi's expression. Kouki still remembered the coldness in his eyes when they'd first met, and how radically it had changed after Seirin won the Winter Cup, but this was just… different, in an inexplicable way. It almost felt as if Akashi was looking at him with fondness, but that couldn't possibly be it. He couldn't begin to fathom why would the mighty Akashi Seijuurou look at him like that.

"It's no problem, really, I'll be glad to help you however I can." He shuffled through his bag and pulled out his notes. "I had brought some books over, but it seems Akashi-kun already has all of them." He chuckled heartily and looked up to meet Akashi's eyes. He was surprised to see the faintest hint of red dusting his pale cheeks. He couldn't remember a time when he'd seen Akashi blushing before. It was kind of sweet and he kind of wanted to take a picture for some reason.

"Uhm, can I ask you a question before we get started?" he requested and he lifted his cup to take a sip while waiting for the answer.

"Sure, anything you want to know."

"Do you… uh… I know this'll sound weird, but do you remember… uh…" he wanted to say 'do you remember me?', but it sounded so dumb and strange, but he just wasn't even sure Akashi remembered him –why would he, he had hardly ever stood out amongst his much more talented teammates- and the thought unsettled him for some reason. "Do you remember the Rakuzan game against Seirin when we were third years?"

Akashi seemed rightfully confused about the question. One of his fine eyebrows quirked slightly.

"Of course I remember. How could I not? It was a very fulfilling game. I was very impressed by your performance; I had already noticed you had fine observation skills, but you really put me in a tight spot more than once."

Kouki felt heat rising to his cheeks. He hadn't even expected to be remembered, but to hear that kind of praise from one of, if not _the_ most talented Point Guard of their generation, made him swoon a little. He kind of wanted to hide his face away because he wasn't even sure if he felt overwhelmingly embarrassed or overwhelmingly happy –probably a bit of both- and he didn't know what to do with himself.

"What about it?"

He flinched. "Uh… ah… I… I think I forgot what I wanted to ask, haha, sorry. Maybe I'll remember it later." He looked away from Akashi's inquisitive eyes and flipped his notebook open. "L-l-let's get started, shall we?"

* * *

"Thank you once again for all your help. Your explanations are thorough and easy to understand; I have no doubts this will reflect positively in my performance in class."

Furihata scratched the back of his head bashfully, while he waved his other hand dismissively. "It's nothing really, you flatter me too much. I'm glad I can help."

Seijuurou wanted to retort, but he held back. Even if he didn't quite need the tutoring, it was not a lie that Furihata was unexpectedly competent explaining complex topics. He was quite sure that, even if he had been as ignorant of the subject as he pretended to be, he would now be perfectly capable of excelling in any test. While thinking this, he pulled out his wallet and produced three ten-thousand yen notes, which he extended in Furihata's direction.

"Wha-" Furihata stared at the money with wide eyes. "N-n-no, Akashi-kun, what is this, this is too much money!" he squeaked, clearly flustered, flailing his hands as if trying to push the money away.

Seijuurou had to swallow the lump in his throat. It was the first time he had the pleasure of witnessing this side of Furihata Kouki –of _this_ Furihata Kouki, the devastatingly gorgeous one-, and his brain, that was barely capable of functioning under normal conditions in Furihata's vicinity, was now going into chaotic frenzy. Stock phrases, he reminded himself, this was an expected development and he had to remember the stock phrases he had prepared for it.

"I offered ten thousand an hour, I could not possibly give you any less after all the help you have given me."

Furihata flailed even more frantically. "B-b-but I already told you I don't need the money! I'm OK just being of help for Akashi-kun."

"Please, I insist. It would be unsightly of me to allow your kindness and expertise to go unrewarded."

Furihata shook his head brusquely, apparently regaining some of his composure, although a slightly reddish tint persisted on the tip of his nose.

"Even so, there's no way I can take all this money. Besides, we still have a lot of topics to cover, right? We have a couple of months before the next midterms, just this one session can't possibly be enough. But I feel bad saying that when you're giving me this much money." He crossed his arms over his chest, clearly troubled, but his expression was stubborn and determined.

Seijuurou had to contain the urge to smile. Of course it had been his plan from the beginning to have more "study sessions", but he had lacked the opportunity and courage to bring it up, so he was quite pleased that the offer had come from Furihata himself.

"Yes, that would indeed be ideal. But I truthfully could not allow you to help me this much if you would not accept any remuneration; I could not possibly abuse your kindness like that. If you would tell me what kind of payment you would deem appropriate, I would be very pleased to grant it to you."

He was very proud of himself and how effective that stock phrase practice had become, and especially, he was proud of himself for considering so many different scenarios so he would not be caught unguarded with an unexpected situation that he hadn't practiced for. Truthfully, he hadn't expected Furihata to be this stubborn about the money, and he was genuinely curious as to what he would request of him.

He seemed to consider it for a bit, but finally he smiled sheepishly and said. "I really don't want anything in return, but if Akashi-kun's going to be stubborn about it, you could buy me lunch someday?"

Seijuurou cocked his head. This would teach him not to get overconfident in his own performance, for this was definitely not an expected outcome and he didn't have a stock phrase for it. His mind was a little more stable now that Furihata had stopped being flustered, and he used the rare chance to make a quick rundown of the best eateries in town. What kind of food did Furihata like? What did he mean with 'buying him lunch'? Had he just been invited on a date? (his heart hammered in his chest and he wondered just how embarrassingly loud it was) No, he couldn't just jump to conclusions. Nothing in Furihata's statement indicated that he wanted to share this 'lunch' with _him_. In fact, it would be more reasonable to assume he did _not_. Perhaps he didn't even want to eat in a restaurant, perhaps he hoped for one of those premium bento boxes that were usually too exquisite to be found in a regular supermarket. How to ask for clarification when his mouth felt so terribly dry was just the extra problem Seijuurou didn't need right now.

"So, uhm… what kind of… uhm… 'lunch', yes, what kind of 'lunch' did you have in mind? Is there any place in particular…? Would you be having any… eh… company? I can get you a spot in any place you like without making a reservation so… uhm…" even though no one had ever suggested Furihata wanted a date with him, after the thought crossed his mind only for him to convince himself that it was not the case, he'd started feeling terribly crestfallen. Was there a significant other in Furihata's life? He hadn't stopped to ponder, but the likelihood was high. In fact, he couldn't imagine that a kind, intelligent, hard-working, and heart-stirringly handsome man such as Furihata Kouki did not draw other people's attention. Perhaps Furihata wanted an opportunity to surprise the person who held his heart by inviting them to a luxurious dinner. He didn't really want to think much of Furihata using his 'payment' to spend time with someone else, but he was not so petty or childish as to not properly compensate someone who had provided him with such an exceptional –although unnecessary- service.

Much to his surprise, Furihata's smile widened into a cheerful grin. "The C Menu from the cafeteria would be nice. We could have lunch tomorrow and go through some pointers to help you study."

Well, that was definitely not what he had expected. He could feel his face heating up. He really wanted to protest, a measly 746 yen meal could not in any way be considered a proper payment, but hearing now that Furihata did want to share this 'lunch' with him had, once again, rendered him unable to think of any coherent sentence.

"Uh… uhm… Y-y-yes. Yes that would… that would be good." He wondered if Furihata was getting troubled by his bizarre changes of mood and speech patterns.

"Cool! It's settled then!" Furihata chirped, and now Seijuurou really hoped he wouldn't be expected to speak soon or he would surely make a fool of himself. "Whoops, if I don't hurry up I'll get locked out of the dorms. See you tomorrow at lunch time!" he waved as he kneeled to put his shoes back on in one swift move before opening the door.

"Kouki." The name escaped his lips (perhaps it would be more accurate to say it rolled off his tongue with unexpected naturality) before he could hold it back as Furihata stepped outside. Furihata turned to look at him, clearly bewildered. "I uh… would you mind if I… called you that? By your given name, I mean."

Furihata tensed slightly and his cheeks turned a light shade of pink. He looked away, his brown eyes refusing to meet Seijuurou's. "Uhm… I suppose it's fine… if you want to."

Seijuurou felt elated for a brief instant, but the nervousness and hesitation in Furihata's eyes did not go unnoticed. After all, he was Akashi Seijuurou, he was naturally skilled at reading people and their thoughts, even when it came to someone who could so easily shake him to the ground like Furihata Kouki.

"Forgive me, it was a strange request for knowing so little about each other. Please forget I said anything." A better time would come. He ought to be patient. Things were moving along smoothly, he shouldn't risk jeopardizing all of his progress so far. "I will be looking forward to tomorrow's 'lunch'."

Furihata's expression changed once again, the short-lived fidgeting making way for a small but quite sincere smile.

"Yeah, I'll be looking forward to it too! Have a good night!" he beamed, waving goodbye as he walked outside into the hall, still wearing that smile that seemed to pierce Seijuurou's heart.

After Furihata left, Seijuurou flipped open his phone and glanced at Furihata's name on the screen, his eyes softening at the edges.

"Kouki." He whispered, tracing his thumb over the characters "Kou as in 'light' and Ki as in 'tree'", he followed the strokes on the screen almost as if he were drawing them. The name felt beautiful in his mouth, almost as beautiful as it looked in written form, and he longed for the day where he would be allowed to speak it to its rightful owner. He hoped with all his heart that the day would come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all I'm completely floored by all the wonderful comments and the positive response I've gotten for this story! I'm so happy to hear everyone's on board with my loser Akashi festival! This is where the plot actually gets started. I'm really enjoying thinking of all the dumb and overly complicated plans Akashi concocts to make Furi believe him. Also Reo is the best wingman and he deserves a raise and a vacation.
> 
> Aaanyway, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, there's a lot more fun to come and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks for reading!


	3. There is such a thing as being "too prepared"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Akashi tries to take the next step in his as of yet unlabeled relationship with Furihata Kouki.

Lunch next day was almost uneventful. Seijuurou had bought both of their meals and they sat together while discussing about their next session and going over some lingering questions he had prepared accordingly. For this occasion, he'd also prepared a range of random inquiries about Furihata's life, the things he liked, his hobbies, his routine and everything he could possibly learn about him without being too invasive. He also had a large repertoire of class anecdotes from the courses he was supposed to be taking, which he had obtained thanks to Reo's large information network –the workings of which, Seijuurou didn't quite understand-. For further preparation, he had gone as far as to make himself acquainted with the common conversation topics amongst the Life Sciences students, the jokes of the trade, the popular subjects of conversations –such as the most difficult assignments or the most notable laboratory accidents of the week- and other similar topics that would continue to sell his story for the time being.

Over the course of their meal, he learned that Furihata still played basketball on weekends, that he was still in touch with his former teammates, that he'd always been good in Biology, and that he hoped to work in a conservation of endangered species program someday. Every time Furihata took another piece from his meal, Seijuurou would marvel at the simple, yet delicate beauty in the way he closed his eyes and hummed in appreciation, savoring every bite as if it were the most magnificent thing he had ever tasted.

He really had to congratulate himself for thinking up this fake tutoring plan, it gave him the perfect excuse to spend time with Furihata, slowly learn new things about him, and the chance to just watch him in quiet awe as Furihata's features lit up when he spoke about his passions, his dreams and the things he loved, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. He hadn't even had to talk that much, and he found he felt a little more confident in facing the other man now, although he was most certain he would still be unable to speak with much coherence if Furihata asked something that he wasn't prepared to answer.

"What about you, Akashi-kun?"

Yes, like that kind of question, for example.

"Huh?"

Furihata chuckled and Seijuurou loathe to think his less than eloquent response was being laughed at. "I've been talking about myself nonstop, you must be bored now."

 _No, not at all, I would never get bored of listening to you_ , is what Seijuurou would have said if his windpipe hadn't shut down on him in that most ill-timed moment.

"So what about you, Akashi-kun? Are you still playing basketball?"

Oh, simple questions with simple answers. He'd expected something of the sort. It would've been naïve to expect Furihara to relinquish so much information about himself without wanting some in return. He could do this.

"Yes, I do in fact. I am not in the school's team, but I do practice on my own or with Reo. We also schedule games with Tetsuya and the others every other month or so. It is still something I greatly enjoy."

He allowed himself a small smile. He could never give up basketball, not entirely. It was the one thing that linked him to the most important people in his life –his mother and his irreplaceable friends-. There were too many good memories related to basketball, and his body still tingled with excitement every time he stepped on court.

Furihata grinned, pushing his empty food tray aside. "Woah, that's great! You guys must play some really intense games." He chuckled. "I'd like to see it one day, that's gotta be a lot more exciting than most pro games."

Well, Seijuurou had not prepared himself for that. "That… that could be… arranged, yes." He stuttered.

Furihata's eyes lit up. "Really? That'd be really cool!" he chirped, almost rising on his seat for a moment before backtracking, as if he'd grown self-conscious of his excitement. "I mean… uhm… wouldn't it be weird? I know by experience that I don't fit much in a Generation of Miracles meeting haha…"

A pang of guilt constricted Seijuurou's chest at the insinuation. "Nonsense." He blurted, almost agitated by the idea of Kouki feeling inadequate due to a misstep from the past. "It would not pose any problem at all. In fact, it would be helpful to have more members to complete two teams." Technically, they already had two Point Guards, but Kouki didn't need to know that when he was clearly assaulted by a rush of insecurity. If needed, Seijuurou himself could change positions, for now, he was determined to convince Kouki to join them in their games. "Besides, Tetsuya, Shintarou and Atsushi bring their partners all the time, surely no one would complain if I did so too."

Kouki jolted upwards, his face reddening at an alarming speed (was he ill?) and he looked up to meet Seijuurou's eyes with a puzzling expression that seemed one part alarmed, one part confused and two parts embarrassed, although Seijuurou couldn't possibly imagine why would Kouki feel so agitated about a comment about his friends' partn-

Oh.

_Oh._

See, in this kind of situation, he wished he were half as smooth and gifted in improvisation as most people assumed he was. He shouldn't have trusted his tongue to run loose like that when the situation was so delicate. Why wasn't Reo here to help him out of this? He urged his brain to work on emergency back-pedaling before this got out of control.

"A-a-a-and you are… uhm… Te-tetsuya's friend so if, uhm, surely Tetsuya would be fine with it and, ah… if Tetsuya is fine with it everyone else usually is, uhm, yes."

That had been a full sentence, right?

Kouki looked away and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. The color on his face had almost gone back to normal, although his cheeks and the tips of his ears were still lightly dusted in red. The tension on his shoulders was released and the corners of his mouth quirked upwards with a nervous giggle

"Y-y-yeah, you're right. Sounds f-f-fun."

Seijuurou sighed with relief. A potential crisis had been successfully avoided, but he couldn't rely on his already flustered mind to not cause another disaster if things kept on. Much to his displeasure, he would have to put an end to this lunch, least he risked ruining all the progress he'd made. He cleared his throat.

"I apologize, I must take my leave now, I have an assignment to work in. I am sorry that I must cut our meeting this abruptly."

Kouki stood from the table and waved his hands dismissively, apparently now recovered from the flounder from moments ago.

"Oh no, don't apologize, Akashi-kun, I'm the one selfishly making use of your time."

Impulsively, he grabbed one of Furihata's flailing wrists.

"Not at all. I very much enjoyed our conversation. Hopefully we can repeat this some other time."

Kouki's eyes flickered from the long fingers wrapped around his wrist to the ruby eyes staring intently into his, a rare glint in their corners.

"Yeah, I had fun too. We should definitely do this again." He said, an easy smile showing on his face and brightening his expression.

Seijuurou felt his heart thrumming with exhilaration inside his ribcage.

"Good. It's settled then."

The silence hung thick for a moment or two, in which Seijuurou found himself entranced by the delightful smile and the way Kouki's eyes sparkled when locked with his. His skin felt smooth and warm under his fingers. When exactly had his fingers made contact with Kouki's skin he wasn't very sure, but he sure did not mind it one bit.

"Uhm, Akashi-kun?"

"Yes?"

"If you still need help with studying…"

"Yes, absolutely. There are many topics I do not fully understand yet and my teacher seems to favor surprise exams."

Kouki started playing with his hair, twirling one chocolate lock around his index finger. Seijuurou briefly pondered what it would feel like to mimic the motion. His free hand trembled with anticipation.

"Then Friday same time's okay for you?"

"Yes, absolutely."

He had a feeling he'd said that before, but he couldn't really clear his mind enough to come up with a different answer.

"Cool, I'll see you then."

Seijuurou wasn't quite sure of how long he'd been staring at Kouki's eyes. He wasn't sure of how he was going to pull away from their enchanting beauty either.

"Uhm… Akashi-kun?"

"Yes?"

"My… my hand. I kinda need it back."

Seijuurou followed Kouki's gaze to where his fingers were still wrapped around his wrist. Well, that explained how he'd known how Kouki's skin felt. When had he done that? For how long?

"Akashi-kun?"

"Yes, absolutely." He blurted, before realizing that wasn't the right answer. "I mean yes, yes, of course. I apologize." He finally let go of Kouki's wrist and missed the contact immediately.

Kouki chuckled lightly. "No need to. Thanks again, this was really fun. I'll see you on Friday!" he chirped.

"Yes, absolutely." Seijuurou muttered as Kouki walked away.

 

* * *

 

"So? How did it go with your Chihuahua boy?"

Seijuurou looked up at Reo, who was playing with the straw on his cappuccino and drawing lines over the whipped cream.

"Nothing special." He replied, returning his attention to his tea and frowning at it. He'd long known this coffee shop's taste for tea leaves was beyond questionable, but after three years of coming here, he couldn't help being offended by it (especially since he'd submitted anonymous suggestions about better brands on the comment box _repeatedly_ ).

"Sei-chan…" Reo glared at him, clearly unamused. "You are _glowing_. And I can't imagine it being because of the tea."

Seijuurou felt his face heat up. He looked down at his right hand and flexed his fingers slowly, reminiscing the feeling of Kouki's skin against his fingertips.

"There is nothing in particular to mention. I just enjoyed his company." He replied simply. He wouldn't be able to describe the turbulence of emotions that took over him when in Kouki's vicinity.

Reo slammed his fist on the table, now clearly displeased, his brow scrunched in a frown and his lips pursed. "Sei-chan, I saved you from public humiliation _twice_ , helped you come up with an excuse to keep seeing him, prevented you from making a fool of yourself on the phone, and helped you practice so you wouldn't blow your chance in private. You are _not_ keeping me out of the loop on this." He sounded genuinely upset, but Seijuurou knew it was his way of showing his concern. Regardless, he had to admit he did owe Reo a lot in regards to his current relations with Kouki and that the least he could do was keep him informed.

"Like I said, I quite enjoy his company. I just find it difficult to describe. I feel like he doesn't judge me. When I told him I was having problems with some classes, he believed me and didn't berate me for my failure. And when we talk he always looks so sincere and straightforward. He is not afraid of me and treats me like an equal. Many people approach me for my position, but when I offered to pay him he said the only compensation he wanted was to share a C Menu with me. Can you believe that? I feel like I can be myself with him, or I could be if his mere presence didn't make me so agitated. I… it is very complicated. I don't seem to have the right words for it."

Reo cocked his brow slightly, resting his cheek on his open palm. "But wouldn't the same thing apply to your other friends? You know, being yourself and not being judged, it's the same with Tetsu-chan and the others."

Seijuurou folded his napkin neatly in half. "Yes and… no. Do not misunderstand me, I value your friendship deeply," Reo hadn't explicitly included himself in the comment, but to Seijuurou, he was as irreplaceable as any of his friends. "as I do with Tetsuya and Shintarou and everyone else. But with Kouki I feel the same and different at the same time. It is very difficult to explain it."

His friend hummed while taking two more gulps from his cappuccino. "I see. Well it's true you've always had it hard to understand your own feelings. I guess the best you can do is take it calmly, don't rush it. Go with the flow and see where it goes. Let things follow their natural course. I'm sure you'll figure something about your feelings and what you want to do about them in the process. Your Chihuahua boy will need time to figure you out anyway, so take it slowly. And if you need any help, you know you have an expert on the matters of the heart on your side." He winked and gave him an encouraging thumbs-up.

Seijuurou smiled, feeling his chest warming up slightly. "Yes, thank you. I appreciate your support." He felt truly fortunate to have a friend like Reo in whom he could rely so openly and who would help him sort through all the things he didn't understand with just the minimum teasing.

 

* * *

 

Seijuurou's next move had to be very carefully calculated. After a couple more sessions, he now needed to show some progress, but not too much. Kouki needed to know his assistance was being fruitful, but he couldn't come to believe it was not necessary. To achieve such a task, Seijuurou would need more than a fake test with terrible marks. He would have to design his own fake test, one that highlighted that he had indeed made use of Kouki's teachings, but that he also had a lot left to understand.

The first thing to do was to get his hands on previous exams from the teacher whose class he claimed to be taking. After reading and revising all of them, he became acquainted with the teacher's writing style, the types of questions he asked and how he graded them. The next step was to adapt that style into the kind of questions and marks that would produce the precise result he wanted to show Kouki. It was a tedious task, but the reward was worth it. The last thing he needed to do was get his hands on official school watermarked paper to print it, fill it out with his own responses, and imitate the teacher's penmanship for the marks. He briefly pondered that there might be something illegal in what he was doing, but he discarded the thought, for he found it worthless.

With the final product ready, he waited for Furihata to arrive for their now routinary Tuesday session. This time Reo had helped him pick an outfit so he didn't spend three hours getting himself dressed , and now that they had met a couple more times, he was having it easier with keeping up with regular conversations. Everything was progressing steadily and as smoothly as Seijuurou could manage, especially given the state of unrest that Kouki caused in his mind. He felt confident about where this was all going, even if he himself wasn't sure of where he _wanted_ it to go.

Of course, the moment the bell rang, his confidence melted into a puddle of terror and nerves. But he was getting better. His fingers didn't shake when he opened the door.

"Hi Akashi-kun! How've you been?"

Kouki flashed him an earth-shattering smile and Seijuurou had to remind himself that words existed and that he was expected to use some of them as means of communication.

"Hello, thank you for coming. I am doing well, thank you, and you?"

"I'm cool too. Sorry for the intrusion."

Once seated at the usual table and with their respective drinks, Seijuurou made his move.

"There is actually something I wanted to discuss before we get started." He began tentatively. "I told you before my teacher was prone to surprise exams and we got one yesterday." He produced his perfectly crafted exam and showed it to Kouki. "Although I felt a little bit more confident than usual, I still could not get an acceptable result."

Kouki looked over the test and his expression switched to one of mild mortification. "I'm sorry, Akashi-kun, do you think this isn't working after all? I could recommend you with someone who could be of more help."

Seijuurou was taken aback. That had not gone according to his plan at all. He panicked, he had not prepared for this kind of outcome. He dug the tip of his pencil beneath the fingernail of his thumb, hoping the pain would put his brain to work quickly on a response that would salvage this situation.

"No, please!" he blurted, and covered his mouth in embarrassment at his misstep. "I… you misunderstand me. Please do not blame yourself for my failure, your tutoring has been nothing short of perfect." Kouki yelped a little at the last word and Seijuurou wanted to slap himself for not thinking things through. "I… I think of this as an improvement, really. Of course it is not acceptable, and perhaps it sounds complacent of me, but compared to my previous performances, this is vastly superior. Your teachings truly helped me with a lot of the questions, but there were many topics we have not yet revised, so it was to be expected."

Kouki looked unconvinced as he kept glancing over at the exam, but replied. "Well… I guess 50 points _is_ better than 3 points…"

"It is an improvement rate of 1666.66%, many would consider it beyond outstanding."

Kouki looked up at him, blinked a couple times and then broke into hearty laughter and the room seemed to light up for an instant. Seijuurou's heart leapt in his ribcage.

"I guess you're right."

"Good. So would you continue to be my tutor?"

Kouki smiled brightly at him. Seijuurou hoped he wouldn't ask a question now, because that smile seemed to have a very particular way of making his brain stop working.

"Sure! As long as Akashi-kun wants me to, I'll be very happy to be of help."

Seijuurou allowed himself a small smile.

 

* * *

 

After their session was over, Seijuurou walked Kouki to the door, building up courage to proceed with the next part of the plan.

"I'll see you tomorrow at lunch?"

"Yes, yes of course, as usual."

"Cool! See you then."

Kouki was already one step out of the door and Seijuurou wasn't getting any of the words he had practiced out of his mouth, so the only thing he could think to do (or rather, do without thinking), was lurch forward and grab Kouki's elbow. "Kouki…!" he called agitated, and immediately backtracked when he noticed the tenseness of the other's shoulders. "I mean… Furihata…" he let go of Kouki's elbow and looked down, loathing his incompetence. "I would… I would like to compensate you… for all your help, I mean."

Kouki looked back at him and cocked his head in curiosity. "That's why we're having lunch tomorrow, aren't we? I'm kind of craving the _katsukare_ menu… I think that's the F."

Seijuurou clenched his fists. He had practiced this. This was not supposed to be so complicated.

"I…" _You know the words, Seijuurou, stop looking at his beautiful face and remember the words_. "I hardly believe even the Super Deluxe Menu could be a proper form of gratitude for a 1666.66% rate of improvement."

Kouki waved his hands dismissively. "We've been over this, Akashi-kun, there's really no need-"

"But I want to." Seijuurou interrupted him abruptly. "I… please humor me for once, otherwise I could not shake off the feeling that I am taking advantage of you." He explained as he fished in his pocket for the items he would need next.

Kouki seemed to consider it for a moment and finally nodded. "Alright, what do you have in mind? If you're just going to give me a stash of money I'm going to reject it."

Seijuurou shook his head vehemently. "No, that is definitely not my intention." He pulled the tickets out of his pocket and handed them to Kouki. "I have acquaintances within the NBL and they often give me tickets for games. The Hiroshima Dragonflies and the Tokyo SunRockers will be facing off in the finals at Yoyogi on Friday, and I remembered you mentioned you liked the Dragonflies so I thought you would enjoy it."

Kouki glanced at the tickets and his eyes widened. "No way! These are premium seats Akashi-kun, I couldn't take them!"

Even as he said that, Seijuurou could identify an excited sparkle in Kouki's chocolate eyes. "Please, I insist. I already have the tickets, it would be a waste not to use them. It's a rare occasion to have the Dragonflies come to Tokyo, surely you wouldn't want to miss it."

Kouki examined the tickets, his fingers shaking slightly with the excitement and Seijuurou's chest felt suddenly very warm. "O-ok, if you insist I guess it would be rude not to take it." He grinned cheerfully. "You're coming with me, right?"

Of course that had been Seijuurou's original intention, but he also realized it would not do to impose his company if Kouki preferred someone else's –much as he loathe the thought- , so against his better wishes, he withheld from nodding. "They are a gift for you, you can invite whoever you wish."

Kouki scratched his chin and his grin widened. "If that's the case, then I'm inviting Akashi-kun."

Seijuurou's mouth went dry and his heartbeat accelerated , making the blood flow a little bit too fast through his veins and making him lightheaded. Could it be…? Did Kouki really…? "You should not feel obligated to invite me, as I said, it is a gift."

To his surprise, Kouki crossed his arms and pursed his lip in apparent displeasure (and it was the most unfairly adorable angry face Seijuurou had ever seen). "Give me a little bit more credit, Akashi-kun. If I say I want to invite you it's because I want to invite you. Unless Akashi-kun doesn't want to come to the game with me, I'd-"

"No, I do want to." Seijuurou blurted, once again interrupting him midsentence. He was making quite a sorry spectacle of himself, showing such a rude behavior while making his underlying intentions so transparent. "Forgive me, I have been acting very rude tonight. But I would be thrilled to be your company on Friday."

Kouki's sullen expression quickly morphed to a pleased and easy smile. "Cool! We could grab a bite after the game too, there are many good places around that area."

Seijuurou smiled back. "Sounds like an excellent plan. I guess that, since we will not be studying that night, it would be more practical to meet at the main gate at 4 so we can get there on time, if that is alright with you."

"Sure, that's great! It's a date then! I really need to go now, they're really gonna lock me out of the dorm if I don't rush. See you at lunch tomorrow!"

Seijuurou could have pointed out that, in the eventuality that Kouki got in trouble with the dormitory manager for being late, he could always summon the name of Akashi Seijuurou and the person in charge would no doubt leave him in the clear, but he was too preoccupied running over Kouki's last words in his mind over and over again.

 

_It's a date._

 

_It's a date._

 

_It's a date._

 

He allowed himself to fall backwards and lay with his back against the wooden floor, his ruby eyes fixed on the ceiling.

 

A date.

 

Date.

 

Date.

 

He pulled out his cellphone and pressed the number two on his speed dial. When the line clicked, he didn't even wait for a greeting before blabbering to the receiver.

"Reo, I have a date with Kouki."

There was silence on the other end of the line and then…

" _You what?! Oh my god, Sei-chan! Oh my god, how did you…? Where are you? Oh my god, I'm coming over!"_

 

* * *

 

"… and thus it happened."

Reo was sitting across from him in his living room, a bowl of popcorn (where it had come from, Seijuurou didn't know) resting on his lap as he stared at him with wide eyes that spoke of interest and great curiosity.

Once he finished retelling his parting conversation with Kouki, Reo sighed and smiled, munching on a handful of popcorn.

"I see." He said once he'd swallowed. "Well, that's great for you, Sei-chan! Although I would advise caution and not to get your hopes too elevated."

"Why is that?"

Reo tapped on his chin thoughtfully. "I think… there's a good chance that Furi-chan 'likes' you in a friendly way. I don't think he used the word 'date' in the sense that you're thinking, based on how you say the conversation went."

Seijuurou pondered on his friend's words briefly. He was probably right, he realized. One as shy as Kouki would not so quickly use the label 'date' unless he meant it in a casual, amicable manner. However…

"I have no problem with that. It would be foolish and rude to expect more when I, myself, am unsure of my feelings and what I truly want from this relationship."

Reo sighed once again, this time looking displeased. "Are you sure about that, Sei-chan? I don't want you to think that I'm imposing on your feelings, but after going this far are you still uncertain about where you're going with this?"

Seijuurou looked down at his hands, extended flat on the surface of the coffee table, remembering the two times his fingers had touched Kouki's skin.

"Yes. I have no doubts that I have a strong inclination towards Kouki," _Kouki_. He could freely call his name when not in his presence, and that was, perhaps, the only perk of his absence "but as you pointed out before, the things I feel with him are very similar to those I feel with my other friends, yet they seem different to me. There is also no denying the _overwhelming physical attraction_ , but if I am to pursue a meaningful relationship, I want it to be based on more than the impulses of the flesh. I would not dare to call this fascination 'romantic' until I can understand what is it about Kouki that makes him so apparently different to everyone else I am close with."

Reo took a sip from his drink and looked up at him with hooded, suspicious eyes. "If you say so… although I think you're being silly trying to rationalize love, but whatever works for you. Now, we have three days before the big night, so I'm gonna' make sure you're perfectly prepared and that you give Furi-chan an evening he'll never forget."

Seijuurou chuckled lightly at his friend's proposal and bowed ceremoniously " _Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, ok, before you call me a show-off snob, the reason I chose to use the Japanese phrase is because I wanted it to convey Akashi's level of ridiculous propriety, which I think is more evident in his heavy keigo than if I tried to put the same meaning into English.
> 
> I'm sorry for taking so long! If you follow me on tumblr, you know that I had to disconnect from the internet for about a month to be able to finish my graduation thesis on time. But I want y'all to know that I'm very flattered and happy with all the wonderful comments I've received, I never expected so many people to be on board with my loser Akashi ~~(esp. considering how the fandom seems to favor abusive/stalker Akashi :'D)~~
> 
> Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, we're moving into phase two of Akashi's road to complete ridiculousness :D. I will be looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
> 
> BTW, the basketball teams here mentioned are real and part of the National Basketball League in Japan. Y'all know how I love the pointless details


	4. Basics of Breathing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the day of Seijuurou's much anticipated "date" with Kouki, and he's absolutely prepared for anything the world might throw in his direction... right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very sorry for the long delay my friends! If you follow me on tumblr (liamatsuoka) you'll know I've had a terrible week/two weeks/month. Been having severe emotional lows, been on a cycle of panic-depression-self loathing for like a week now and crying every day, basically nothing's working for me right now and I'm facing a very hard and painful decision that I don't know if I'm ready to make, and whichever road I choose I'm probably gonna hate myself for it (on the flip side, the next chapter of Misery is really fucking sad and depressive so I'm in the precise emotional place to write it? Yay?). So anyway, because of all this shit going on I'm supposedly on break from the internet, but some new developments seem to have rendered even that entirely pointless and idek what I'm doing at this point. And since I already had this chapter written since ages ago, I decided to put it out already because I was in dire need of some positivity.
> 
> TL;DR my life sucks right now, so I'm hoping to at least make yours better with this? Or smth like that?

Kouki glanced quickly at his phone: 3:58 p.m. He raised the pace, not quite running, but almost. If he didn't hurry, he would be late to meet Akashi-kun, and he had the feeling that even a one-minute tardiness would cause a bad impression, which he definitely didn't want.

As expected, even if he had arrived at 4:00 p.m. sharp, Akashi was already standing by the gate, waiting for him.

"I'm sorry for being late, Akashi-kun, did you wait for long?"

Akashi turned to look at him and offered a gentle smile. "You are, in fact, perfectly on time, no need to apologize." He said.

Kouki took a moment to take in his appearance. He was wearing a long-sleeved, black dress shirt with thin red stripes, and a light, wine color blazer on top. He had dark, tight jeans and a white belt with a pattern of light-grey letters he couldn't read. Kouki, in his casual Dragonflies t-shirt and jeans, felt terribly under-dressed and briefly wondered if Akashi-kun's already unfairly vast set of skills also included the ability to dress perfectly no matter the occasion.

He pushed those dumb thoughts aside and looked up to meet Akashi's eyes. "So… we should head to the subway station, I suppose?" he asked, already turning in that direction. He stopped in his tracks when he realized Akashi wasn't moving. "Uhm… is something the matter?"

"It would be much faster and more comfortable if we take my car." He said, simply, pointing at a shiny red car parked a few meters away. Kouki didn't know much about cars, so all he could tell was that it was a Lamborghini, but that alone was enough to make him fret.

"O-o-o-ooooh, I-I didn't know Akashi-kun could drive!" he commented, slightly amazed by the very expensive looking machine. "Isn't it dangerous to drive this car downtown?"

Akashi smiled confidently and opened the passenger's door, inviting him inside. Kouki didn't really think, and by the time he noticed, he was already inside. The seat was firm and comfortable, and the smell of fresh leather filled his nostrils. He had never been in such an expensive car, and his fingers trembled, worried he would do something like stain the carpet or damage the interior in any way with his uneducated presence.

Akashi-kun slid into the vehicle moments later and swiftly moved to place the key in to turn on the engine, but for some reason, his hand twitched making him drop the keys to the floor. Akashi grimaced, his cheeks turning a light crimson. Kouki giggled lightly, which in turn made the blush on Akashi's face darken.

"I-uhm- apologies. I was-"

Kouki waved his hand and chuckled "Why are you even apologizing, Akashi-kun? Everyone drops stuff from time to time!" It made him feel a little bit less nervous to see that even the almighty Akashi Seijuurou could have moments of human clumsiness. It also helped dissipate that feeling of inadequacy that plagued him from time to time in Akashi-kun's company. It now seemed a lot more plausible that Akashi-kun could see him as a friend in the long run.

Feeling a lot more relaxed now, Kouki briefly pondered just how jealous Shikitani-kun –his roommate, from Engineering- would be when he heard he'd been on a Lamborghini. He smiled, looking forward to telling him and enjoying his furiously frustrated expression.

* * *

The ride to the stadium was surprisingly pleasant in the sense that Seijuurou didn't have any embarrassing episode of stuttering or otherwise making a fool of himself –the episode with the car keys had been more embarrassment than he'd wanted to experience tonight. Although Kouki chatted quite a bit, focusing on the road gave Seijuurou a perfect excuse to deliver simple monosyllabic answers without missing a beat of what Kouki wanted to say –mostly a casual conversation about his classes and assignments.

The crowd inside the stadium was sizable, expected of the National League finals. Once they made it inside, Kouki –who was wearing his favorite team's t-shirt- rushed to the souvenir shop, where memorabilia of both teams was being sold. Seijuurou approached, ready to ask Kouki if he wanted anything and buy it for him, but before he could open his mouth, Kouki offered him a small pennant with the Dragonflies' logo on it. Seijuurou held it and inspected it briefly, waving it experimentally. He'd never attended a sports match with the intent of cheering for any particular team, so this was a completely new experience for him.

"Ah! Perhaps Akashi-kun is actually rooting for the SunRockers! I can get you one of those instead."

Seijuurou waved his hands a little too adamantly. A part of him felt he should offer to pay for the item, but another one was way too thrilled by the idea of Kouki buying this small flag for him, so instead he held on to it and shook his head.

"No, please, there's no need to. I really admire the Dragonflies' Point Guard Aikawa-san, he is a very talented player."

Kouki looked up at him, his eyes suddenly sparkling as if he were seeing the most wondrous thing in the world, and Seijuurou finally understood that expression about feeling an arrow piercing your heart.

"I knooooow right?! I didn't know Akashi-kun liked him too, he's soooo cool! It's like he controls every inch of the court!" he squealed excitedly. "Let's go, the game's about to begin!" he added, grabbing Seijuurou's wrist and pulling him towards the bleachers. Although there was no skin-on-skin contact (Seijuurou cursed his choice for long sleeves), the feeling of Kouki's fingers through the fabric made his heart rate speed up and he felt his cheeks burning. He prayed to all the gods that Kouki wouldn't turn to look at him or ask him any question, because he was definitely going to make a disgraceful spectacle of himself if that happened.

They arrived at their seats –the best in the venue, naturally- and were instantly surrounded by the loud cheering of the crowd. The two teams were warming up in the court already. The Power Forward for the Tokyo SunRockers was slamming a dunk to show off, earning the crowd's loud approval. Seijuurou glanced around the stadium and noticed most of the crowd seemed to be wearing the colors of that team –to be expected, truly, they were amongst the favorites in the league, and they were the locals in this game-. He and Kouki really stood out by holding the visitors' colors, he could feel some dirty looks from people in their vicinity. Seijuurou didn't really mind. He had no particular favorite, he followed the League without caring much about winners or losers, but he hadn't lied when he said he thought the Dragonflies had a great Point Guard, probably one of the top three in the league.

The game started and the SunRockers got the ball first. Kouki, standing by his side, way more excited than Seijuurou had ever seen him, was yelling "Defense!" enthusiastically. The Dragonflies' Point Guard intercepted a pass and sent the ball flying across the court, to where the team's ace was waiting and ready to slam it down the net. Kouki screamed, exhilarated, a huge smile drawn on his face.

"Oh my Gooooood! Did you see that, Akashi-kun?! That was soooo cooooool!" his cheeks were lightly flushed, his hands trembling with the adrenaline rush. "I can't believe we're so close, oh my god! I could almost touch them!"

Seijuurou chuckled lightly. There was something unbearably adorable about Kouki's childlike joy, and it was quite contagious too. Seijuurou wanted to do something about that radiant smile and those pink-dusted cheeks, and those stunningly sparkling eyes, something physical maybe, but he couldn't quite determine _what_ , and he imagined just randomly pinching Kouki's cheeks would be quite frowned upon, so he held back.

The game progressed with both teams being evenly matched, the point gap never going further than three or four points for either team. The tension kept growing among the crowd, and even if most of the spectators favored the local team, they still cheered when the Dragonflies scored. Both teams had a very high level of teamwork and individual technique. Seijuurou briefly pondered how much of a challenge they could pose for the Vorpal Swords. He had to admit he was getting infected by the collective excitement. Watching such a high level match from up close had a very different feeling than watching it on TV. Perhaps he should make a habit out of this.

He turned to look at Kouki, who was enthusiastically yelling cheers for his favorite team. Seijuurou was getting the privilege of witnessing a very wide range of expressions in Kouki's face tonight: from wild excitement that made his face light up and his body burst with energy, to adorable joy that turned his cheeks a soft shade of pink and made him squeal and jump in his place, to riveting tension when the Dragonflies were in a pinch and it made him chew on his lip, clench his fist, and fidget anxiously. Seijuurou congratulated himself; this had truly been a magnificent idea.

Around the end of the second quarter, the Dragonflies were behind by four points, and the SunRocker's ace, Fujita, seemed to be in a stride, scoring three consecutive baskets without giving his opponents any chance to breathe. There were only a few seconds left on the clock, and he seemed to be intent on making one more basket to finally widen the point gap.

"Defense! Defense!" Kouki called, anxiously gripping the Dragonflies banner he'd brought, apparently homemade.

Aikawa, the Dragonflies' Point Guard that Kouki so admired, was the last man standing between Fujita and the basket. Seijuurou could tell how critical this point was. If the SunRockers were the first to finally get a breakaway, it would boost their morale for the second half and make it harder for the Dragonflies to catch up.

"Aikawa-san! You can do it, Aikawa-san!" Kouki shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth to improvise a megaphone. Seijuurou's attention was taken away from the game as he imagined himself on the court and Kouki calling his name in support " _You can do it, Akashi-kun_!" and he was suddenly not interested in the game anymore, or maybe it was just the heat that had shot up to his face and muddled his train of thoughts. He distantly heard the buzzer ring and Kouki screaming with joy beside him, throwing his arms up in the air, but his brain was too preoccupied feeling flustered to pay attention to the real world, his imagination running extraordinarily wild.

" _Akashi-kun you can do it!"_

" _Go, Akashi-kun, go!"_

" _Akashi-kun! Akashi-kun!"_

"Akashi-kun, did you see that?! Aikawa-san is really so cool, oh my god! That was so, so amazing! We haven't taken the lead back, but he really saved it there, it was like woah! I almost missed it, oh god, he's so fast, that was amazing!"

It struck Seijuurou that maybe he should say something, lest Kouki believe he wasn't paying attention, or worse that he misunderstood his distraction for lack of interest or enjoyment. He couldn't quite tell Kouki that he enjoyed observing him as much if not more than the actual game, so he had to try his best to make it seem like he had any idea of what Kouki was talking about.

"Yes, absolutely." He replied, still in a daze. "It was… yes, that point was important… of course… if, if he'd lost that one-on-one and allowed that last basket it would have had a… negative, yes, negative effect on the team's morale."

Kouki beamed, apparently unfazed by Seijuurou's incompetent attempts at communication. "Yeah, I know! I'm sure they'll change the flow of the game in the second half, there's a really good feel about'em now. Aikawa-san is really reliable after all."

Seijuurou wondered if he would go blind from staring at that luminous smile for too long, but he found he couldn't really look away, so the best he could do was hope his eyesight would not be compromised. His heartrate sped up, and he realized it seemed to be doing that a lot this evening. He wished he could make sense of such phenomenon, but he could hardly think straight right now, so he decided it would be for the best to just ignore all those glaring questions for the time being and just enjoy the evening without overthinking that much. That had, after all, been part of Reo's advice for tonight, and it would be foolish to ignore it.

" _Your main problem is that you overthink everything, you need to relax a little!_ " his friend had said as he rummaged through his closet, trying to help him pick an appropriate outfit for the occasion. " _You said you can be yourself around him, but in reality you're everything but! You get so ridiculous I can barely recognize you, honestly. I know you want to please him and get him to like you, but what good will that be if he doesn't like the 'real' you?"_

Reo had been right about that, but it was harder said than done, especially when he was caught between a natural instinct to do everything in his reach to avoid rejection, and the inevitable emotional turbulence that took over him when in Kouki's vicinity.

" _Just go with the flow, act naturally and let things happen on their own_."

When Kouki left for the restroom, Seijuurou closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to still his heart.

" _Just have fun! If you enjoy spending time with your Chihuahua boy, make it so he notices! And don't think too hard_."

"Oh, right on time! The line was huge, I thought I wouldn't make it!"

Kouki's delighted voice and the crowd roaring pulled Seijuurou back to the present. The ball was on the SunRockers' court, and looking at the board, Seijuurou noted that the Dragonflies had apparently scored a three pointer right at the end of the second quarter, when he'd zoned out into fantasy land. That explained Kouki's excitement and hopefulness after the last play, Aikawa hadn't just stopped Fujita's charge but also managed to get the ball to their Shooting Guard in time to close the point gap to a single basket. That was, indeed quite impressive, and he felt slightly sorry for having missed it. He decided he would make an extra effort to keep attention on the game without missing a beat of Kouki's reactions to it.

" _Make small talk."_ Reo had suggested _"Get some conversation going. If he asked you to come with him, he probably enjoys your company too. Get to know each other in a different setting."_

He pondered briefly about what kind of conversation would be good to start, and figured the best would be something casual, that wouldn't retract Kouki's attention from the game. The topic also had to be something he felt confident about, so he wouldn't have problems keeping up with the conversation. With that in mind, the decision was obvious.

"Have you been a fan of the Dragonflies for long?"

Kouki glanced at him from the corner of his chestnut eyes briefly, and quickly turned to face him.

"Hmmm… I've always liked their style, but I guess I became a fan when Aikawa-san joined, I was very impressed by him since the beginning. That was around the time we were second years in high school, so five years?" he chuckled lightly. Seijuurou's swallowed hard when Kouki said the word 'we'. "What's Akashi-kun's favorite team?"

He swallowed hard again. What would be the most appropriate answer in this situation? His first instinct was to say he shared Kouki's love for the Dragonflies, trying to create sympathy, hoping the common interest would make him appear more approachable. But he also remembered what Reo had said about showing his true self, and that getting Kouki to like a false version of himself would defeat the purpose of becoming friends. And, as was the norm, he had now officially taken too long to answer a relatively simple question and was officially making a fool of himself.

"I, uhm… if I must be completely honest I don't have a favorite team. I do watch the League's games, but with no particular preference. So long as the winning team is the one to give the best performance, I am satisfied."

Kouki raised his eyebrows, a mixture of surprise and wonder in his expression. "Ooh! That's actually a pretty cool way to look at it!" he said, smiling. "As expected of Akashi-kun."

By this point in their relationship, Akashi already knew it was better for everyone to avoid prolonging conversations, otherwise he would undoubtedly make a fool of himself and put his family to shame. Thus, he was most grateful when a roar from the crowd drew Kouki's attention back to the court. The Dragonflies had finally turned the game around at the top of the third quarter. Kouki jumped in excitement, and his long fingers clasped –seemingly mindlessly- Seijuurou's sleeve, holding the fabric tight. Seijuurou begged to all the heavens that Kouki didn't decide to ask him something now, because his brain was currently screaming at him desperately, something around the lines of 'you have to breath, you fool', but he had honestly no clue of what that meant or how on earth to achieve it, too preoccupied with the tingling sensation of Kouki's fingertips on his bicep.

The hold tightened as the end of the game approached. The third quarter ended with the score tied at 79-79, and by that point Kouki's fingers were actually interfering with the blood flow in his arm. Seijuurou couldn't possibly bring himself to point it out and risk losing that little physical connection, so all he could do was hope his arm would not gangrene. While losing a limb for the sake of these few minutes of bodily proximity seemed very much worth it, he would still prefer to avoid it if possible.

By the time the last quarter started, Seijuurou was completely infected with Kouki's excitement. He found himself absent-mindedly waving the Dragonflies' flag that Kouki had bought for him enthusiastically. When, around the third minute of the fourth quarter, Aikawa managed to shake off the SunRockers' defense and shoot the ball through the net without requiring his teammates' assistance, once again taking the lead in the scoreboard, Seijuurou cheered, his usual emotion filter completely neutered by the adrenaline.

"Yes!" he applauded, shaking his fist in the air fervently. He looked down at Kouki, who was doing pretty much the same, and for some reason, Kouki turned to look up at him at the same time. Their eyes met and Kouki grinned, blinding Seijuurou. It was like Reo had said, once he'd stopped thinking and actually allowed himself to have fun and go with the flow, the whole experience seemed to have turned a lot more enjoyable for both of them.

At minute seven, the exhausted Center had made a bad step and gotten himself fouled while the SunRocker's ace scored a basket. Fujita also claimed the extra shot, earning a one-point lead for his team. Kouki's breath got caught in his throat, his hold on Seijuuro's sleeve tightening with worry, his small body inching just a tiny little bit closer, just enough for Seijuurou to notice. It was pitiful that Kouki's team was losing, he pondered briefly, but this closeness was quite nice, he had to admit.

As the seconds ticked away, Kouki's anxiety kept rising, to the point where he had both hands wrapped around Seijuurou's arm.

"Come on, come on! You can do it!" he called nervously, his teeth digging into his lower lip. Seijuurou felt slightly conflicted. Of course he wanted Kouki's team to win, but he wouldn't complain if Kouki would just stay like this, his body fidgeting closer and closer to Seijuurou's, his warmth slowly seeping through the fabric of his shirt.

There was just one minute left on the clock and each team had scored two more baskets, leaving the SunRockers with a one-point lead. Fujita had the ball once again and was trying to make it past the half court, but once again, Aikawa was facing him. Seijuurou briefly wondered about the Dragonflies' decision to make their Point Guard cover the other team's ace, but it took a moment's consideration to acknowledge that Aikawa was indeed the best suited for the job. Seijuurou himself had often taken the role of facing other teams' aces back in high school, especially in their third year. He remembered fondly all those times trying to find a way around Shintarou's three pointers with their ever increasing speed and force, or the dynamism of his combined plays with his partner, or trying to stop Daiki's overwhelming speed and versatility, and how obnoxiously difficult it was to deal with Ryouta when he used Perfect Copy -and how humiliating when he'd been on the receiving end of an ankle break-, or how exhausting it was to keep up with Kagami's brute strength and powerful attacks, especially when he also had to occupy himself with blocking Tetsuya. Now that most of them were third years in college -with the exception of Daiki and Kagami, who had been scouted by different professional teams after graduating- they were all much too busy, which made it harder to arrange a meeting. Watching this game made him realize how much he missed playing basketball with his friends, and he made a mental note to try and schedule something soon.

"Aikawa-san stop him! You can do it!" Kouki's nervous cheers brought him back to the game.

Fujita was dribbling, trying to decide what would be the best course to pass the opposing Point Guard, and the seconds kept ticking away. Seijuurou grew nervous too. Fujita could just pass the ball or back away to kill time, allow the clock to run to zero and he would have the victory in his pocket. And then he realized it. Fujita was stalling to make Aikawa nervous, force him to make the first move and open the path for him to sink the finishing blow. Fujita may not be as powerful as Kagami or as fast as Daiki, but he sure was much smarter than either of them.

With twenty seconds on the clock, the crowd was deathly quiet. Seijuurou wondered if the pressure would finally make Aikawa fall for Fujita's trap. Finally, with fifteen seconds left, Aikawa lunged forward, and Seijuurou knew all was lost. Fujita dodged and ran towards the basket, dribbling quickly, a triumphant grin on his face. But when Fujita was preparing to shoot, he and everyone else realized that he was no longer in possession of the ball. Kouki gasped. Seijuurou scanned the court and found that Tano, the Dragonflies' center, was now dribbling the ball. Seijuurou realized, shocked, that Aikawa had realized Fujita's scheme and lured him into his own, faking an attempt to attack to give Tano the perfect window to steal the ball. With the end of the game approaching, Tano passed the ball to their Shooting Guard, who quickly let go of the ball and scored a perfect three pointer. The crowd exploded in cheers.

There were only four seconds left. The SunRockers' Point Guard, threw the ball in, making a long pass all the way to the half-court. If the Dragonflies could stop this attack, the title was theirs. Kouki was skipping in his spot, his fingers so tight on Seijuurou's arm he was sure he'd have bruises by tomorrow. Uchiyama from the SunRocker's was in possession, obviously trying to get the ball to Fujita. He broke away from three of the Dragonflies' players, his desperation and drive palpable, and called for Fujita, shooting the ball at him. Fujita was in perfect position, if the ball made it to his hands, he would inevitably score and push the game into overtime.

But the ball's trajectory was abruptly interrupted by Aikawa's hand that had materialized out of nowhere. The buzzer rang loud and deadly. The match was over

"WOAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Kouki screamed, his voice already hoarse. "They did it, they did it, they did it!" he threw his arms around Seijuurou's waist. "We won! Oh my god, we really won!"

The force of the embrace knocked the air out of Seijuurou's lungs. Or maybe it was just the fact that he was being _hugged_. By Kouki, nonetheless. He could hear the cheering of the crowd and the announcer calling the final scores in the background, but everything felt muted by Kouki's body heat. Seijuurou's head was spinning.

_Oxygen. That is a thing I need. How do I obtain it?_

"Akashi-kun, are you alright? I'm sorry, I got too excited, was I too forceful?"

_Breathing. Through the nose, down the trachea, into the lungs. Then into the blood stream and back to the brain._

Maybe it was the loss of that dizzying embrace or the concern in Kouki's voice, but finally Seijuurou was brought back to his senses as the winning team turned towards the bleachers and bowed, thanking the audience. Apparently, he had zoned out for about three minutes. Kouki would definitely think he was strange now. He cursed his inability to cope with Kouki's variety of spontaneous, breathtaking reactions.

"Yes… Yes I am… well. I was… overcome with excitement too… It was a… quite excellent game."

Kouki beamed. "Yeah, it totally was! I can't believe I saw the Dragonflies take the championship from so up close!"

Seijuurou was about to suggest they started for the exit so as to not get caught in the crowds, when a voice called for them

"Hey! You're the kid who was cheering really loudly!"

Aikawa from the Dragonflies had somehow approached their seats without Seijuurou's notice and was waving at them. Kouki stiffened by his side, his cheeks growing a dark shade of red.

"U-uhm, I-I-I'm sorry if I distracted you, I-"

"Oh no, not at all! I came to thank you, knowing someone was rooting for us so badly really motivated me." Aikawa laughed.

"A-a-ah thank you, I mean, it was an amazing game, Aikawa-san is really amazing, I used to play as a Point Guard in high school and I always admired Aikawa-san, I'm a huge fan, you always seem to have the whole court in control and that's really cool and—"

Seijuurou looked down at Kouki, surprised to see him so flustered. This Kouki was a lot more similar to the scaredy, fidgety boy that had slammed to the floor face first on their first game against each other. In the present, Kouki seemed to be a lot more confident and comfortable in his own skin, so it was slightly strange to see him revert to his old self. Seijuurou found his flushed face extremely endearing, but he also felt a slight discomfort at watching another man trigger this transformation. Seijuurou shook the absurd thoughts out of his head. _Stop overthinking_ , he reminded himself. It was natural to get embarrassed and self-conscious when faced with a celebrity or someone you admired, Kouki was clearly star-struck. These feelings of jealousy –an easily identifiable emotion- had no place in his mind, especially when he couldn't determine _what_ exactly it was that he felt for Kouki. Although he could describe it with many words –fascination, endearment, attraction, comfort, happiness-, he couldn't quite label it the way Reo thought he should if he ever hoped to decide whatever he wanted to do about this –for the time being- friendship. He had a feeling this evening would help him discern his own intentions better, but until that time came, it was most ridiculous to get upset when seeing Kouki so flustered by Aikawa's presence. He should, in fact, feel pleased at this lucky coincidence that had allowed Kouki to have an even closer meeting with the player he idolized, which would no doubt make Kouki even happier than he already was.

 _Stop overthinking, I swear, Sei-chan_ …, Reo's voice popped at the front of his mind and he realized that, once again he had zoned out. When he was back to his senses he found himself surrounded with the entirety of the Dragonflies team, all of them greeting and thanking Kouki for his enthusiastic encouragement. Kouki was flailing his arms in fluster, his face a deep shade of red, and apparently desperate for words that were clearly not coming. Seijuurou's lips tilted upwards in a tiny smile, thinking Kouki's current state of distress was very similar to his own when overwhelmed by Kouki's kindness or the beauty of his smile.

"We gotta' go now, there's a crowd of reporters waiting for us, but we hope to see you in our future games." Aikawa said, winking. "Come over here quick, we wanted to give you something. It's the least we can do to thank you, your cheering really motivated us, right guys?"

The rest of the team nodded their agreement as Aikawa pulled out a black marker and signed Kouki's t-shirt. One by one, the other players mimicked the action. When they were done, Kouki held the hem of the garment with trembling fingers and stared at it with wide eyes, still unable to articulate any coherent response as the Dragonflies waved and walked away. Seijuurou watched them go and smiled, pleased that the evening had taken such a fortunate twist. Surely this was an occasion Kouki would never forget.

Through the corner of his eye, Seijuurou caught a glimpse of a body collapsing backwards, and he reached out with one arm to hold it. He was surprised to see that the body in question was Kouki's, his expression glowing with bliss and his eyes sparkling –apparently passed out-, but his fingers tightly bunched on the fabric of his shirt. Seijuurou examined the item and realized it that apart from the players' signature, it also had a note that said "For Furihata-kun, our greatest fan".

"Furihata, are you alright?" he asked, tentatively pushing Kouki back to a standing position.

"Akashi-kun… this is the best day of my liiiife…" Kouki replied in a dreamy drawl.

Seijuurou felt his cheeks burning, and a light, bubbly feeling rising from his stomach, making his heart swell and finally flutter past his lips in the form of laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The most recent Dragonflies vs Sunrockers game I found had the Sunrockers winning 98-87. The Dragonflies have had a shit season, they lost all but one out of five games since April ): I don't follow Japanese basketball, but y'all know how picky I am with details. The names of the players are 100% made up, if by coincidence any player in either team has a matching name, it was entirely accidental.
> 
> Thanks for all your continued support, I can't promise any updates coming soon since my emotional state is so unstable right now but I hope you'll continue enjoying this story and having fun with it. I'm looking forward to hear your thoughts.


	5. Tasting Success

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akashi's date with Furihata continues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i swear i'll put up a decent summary, today's just not the day

Kouki's ears tingled with a foreign sound coming from right behind him that brought him back from his floaty bliss. He glanced towards the direction of the sound and found Akashi laughing softly, his ruby eyes shimmering with amusement, his normally pale cheeks lightly dusted with a rosey pink color. He was halfheartedly covering his mouth with one hand, apparently trying to quiet down his laughter. He'd never seen Akashi laugh before, not during their three years in high school or the last month that they'd been studying together. Smiling, albeit discreetly, a handful of times, but laughing out loud? It was a new side of Akashi Seijuurou that Kouki had never seen before, and it was pretty cute. He also couldn't remember ever thinking Akashi could be 'cute' before. Intimidating, definitely, handsome, no doubt, interesting, of course, a little bit strange from time to time and funny on occasion, but never 'cute' _. Well, there's a first time for everything_ , he told himself, allowing for Akashi's merriment to infect him. He had already been over the moon with happiness, getting the chance to see his favorite team live, but the evening just kept getting better and better by the minute. It was hard to believe in the past two hours he'd seen the Dragonflies take the Nationals, been able to personally meet and shake hands with his idol Aikawa, get autographs from everyone in the team and bared witness to Akashi-kun's laughter. Could this evening get any better?

Kouki was practically skipping as they made it back to the parking lot, his fingers tightly clutching the fabric of his autographed t-shirt. His nervousness returned just a little when he had to climb back into the very expensive car that he was terrified of damaging.

"So, got any ideas of what you want for dinner?"

Akashi turned to look at him, apparently confused by the question. "I was just about to ask you the same thing."

Kouki giggled lightly. He had kind of expected this to happen. "No way. Akashi-kun already brought me to watch the best game ever from the best location and I even got to shake Aikawa-san's hand, no way am I gonna be choosing dinner, it's your turn."

Akashi did not seem too pleased by this. "The reason for this outing was to repay you for all the assistance you have given me the past month and the positive results I achieved thanks to it. It stands to reason that I take you to dine somewhere you like."

This time it was Kouki who was unamused. He pouted and crossed his arms above his chest. "Akashi-kun, I could tutor you for the next hundred years and never compensate for how amazing tonight was. Don't be stubborn about this or I'll get angry. There are a lot of places to eat around here, just tell me what you'd like and I'll get us to some place we can eat it."

Akashi gripped the steering wheel, his discomfort apparently growing. Kouki briefly wondered if he was pushing him too hard, but he wasn't willing to back down on this. He couldn't let Akashi one-sidedly shower him with kindness and attentions. Maybe he should change his approach.

"I heard from Mibuchi-san that Akashi-kun likes tofu soup. There's a really nice place close-by where they serve many different tofu dishes. I've always wanted to try it, how's that sound?"

Finally, Akashi hummed in approval, his cheeks taking a light reddish color. "Yes that… I have heard of this place too, it has a … good reputation. We can… yes, we can go there if you want to."

Kouki rolled his eyes, glad that his strategy had worked. The thought that maybe Akashi would've preferred a fancier, much more expensive place crossed his mind. Kouki was determined on paying for dinner, but the place he'd thought of was already challenging his budget, if Akashi had chosen some luxurious place Kouki wouldn't have known what to do. Perhaps it had been for the best that he'd sort of chosen their dinner place in the end. But then he wondered briefly if maybe he should insist on Akashi choosing a place. He didn't know how delicate Akashi's spoiled palate was. What if he didn't like the food? Or worse, what if it made him sick? Kouki panicked briefly, already feeling mortified by the prospect. It was the first time he went out with Akashi-kun and he was already so troubled. He just didn't want to be the kind of guy that always relied on his rich friend's money. He knew Akashi-kun didn't mean it, but every time he demonstrated his superior social status, Kouki felt self-conscious and inadequate, like he was being condescended to. Like he didn't belong in Akashi-kun's world. He was overthinking, he knew, but he couldn't push those thoughts away.

"Is something the matter, Furihata? Would you prefer we dine somewhere else?"

Akashi's concerned voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He shook his head a little bit too fast, making himself slightly dizzy. "No, not at all. Ah, but if Akashi-kun would like to go to a fancier place that'd be fine." He didn't know why he'd said that, but now that he had there was no taking it back. Well, he could live on instant ramen for a few months if he could make Akashi-kun enjoy a nice dinner. Although in retrospect, a place fancy enough to suit an Akashi's stature would probably surpass by far the amount of money in his wallet. Oh well, he could always volunteer as a dishwasher and spend the next ten years paying his debt.

To his surprise, Akashi too shook his head. "Absolutely not. You were correct in that I do quite like tofu soup. If I had any inclination towards more refined food I would not eat the cafeteria menus, I assure you. Of course, if you would prefer a more elegant place, I would be glad to comply. I could easily get us a table anywhere you like, I would not mind that."

Normally, Kouki would've felt self-conscious from Akashi's comment. It was a little bit intimidating to think an ordinary guy like himself who could barely sustain his monthly expenses was suddenly hanging out with a guy who implied he could get a table in Japan's most prestigious eateries with just a phone call and his status. It definitely felt like they belonged in different worlds. But for some reason, this one time all he could do was laugh heartily.

"Akashi-kun, aren't we going in circles with this discussion?" he said, more a rhetorical comment than an actual question.

The car came to a halt and Akashi turned to look at him, a little bit puzzled, but after a few seconds, a twinkle of mirth seemed to reach his eyes and slightly curve his lips upwards.

"I believe we are."

They both laughed for a good minute, and Kouki was glad he got to hear Akashi-kun's laughter twice in the same night. Finally, Akashi recovered his composure and pointed outside of Kouki's window.

"It seems we have arrived in our destination."

 

* * *

 

Seijuurou got off the car and walked around to open Kouki's door. He offered his hand and helped Kouki out of the car, the mirth from laughing still bubbling in his stomach. If Reo asked him he wouldn't be able to explain it, but it was now undeniable that he greatly enjoyed Kouki's company. He could probably count the amount of times he'd laughed so openly about something so meaningless with the fingers of his two hands, and he'd done it twice tonight. Like Reo had suggested, he was trying not to overthink everything, and was actually having a lot of fun. This evening would be a memorable one for sure.

Kouki's fingers briefly grazed his as he stepped down from the car. The contact sent light tingles through his hand and a gentle warmth to his bloodstream, spreading it all over his body. This seemed to happen every time his skin touched Kouki's. He didn't understand _why_ it happened, but he wasn't going to complain either. It was natural, simple and pleasant.

The restaurant was packed full of people. Many were wearing SunRockers shirts and argued loudly, complaining about their teams' defeat. Seijuurou worried some of them would attack Kouki for wearing the shirt of the opposing team, but Kouki himself seemed completely unaware of it as they found a free table near the back. A very overworked-looking waiter approached them and took their orders before dashing away. The game probably meant a good business night for the restaurant, but it also meant it would be hectic and difficult to tend to all the customers.

They found themselves submerged in a sort of comfortable silence, even though the other clientele was extremely noisy. Kouki was still exploring the menu, as if searching for something else that might catch his eye, and Seijuurou was fine just observing him. He noticed Kouki's eyes would go over the left side of the menu first. He didn't need to check the menu to know what was happening: Kouki was checking the prices first. Seijuurou wanted to point out that he would pay for anything Kouki wanted, but perhaps the offer would just put more pressure on Kouki. He decided to bring that up after they ate.

"Have you been here before?" he found himself asking instead, wishing to learn more about Furihata and enjoy the pleasant mood that was surrounding them.

Kouki shook his head. "Not really, but I've heard a lot of reccommendations. Always wanted to try it." He replied sheepishly, finally putting the menu away. The waiter arrived with a jar of cool green tea and handed them two cups filled to the brim before he placed the jar in the centre of the table. "How about you?" Kouki asked, smiling as he sipped his tea, apparently pleased by its coolness.

"It is my first time too." He said simply. It was not the kind of exclusive high-end restaurants he frequented on his business meetings, but it was the most reputed tofu restaurant in the area, so he'd been wanting to try it out for some time too.

Their food arrived shortly after, so they went back to the comfortable silence from before. Seijuurou's dish was quite delicious, it definitely lived up to its reputation and even exceeded it.

"Ah, how's your food, Akashi-kun?" Kouki asked, looking up at him with expectation.

Seijuurou felt his lips naturally pulled upwards into a smile. "It is truly outstanding, I am certainly not disappointed. How about yours?"

Kouki beamed. "It's delicious! I'd never tried cheese tofu before, but this is great! Wanna have some?" he asked, holding a piece of tofu with his chopsticks and reaching out in his direction. Seijuurou felt his face warming at the gesture, and without thinking too much about it, he wrapped his lips around the offered food. It was indeed delicious, the taste mild and delicate. Kouki kept glancing at him, apparently nervous about his judgement.

"This one is delightful too. Coming here was a very good choice."

Kouki's face brightened with relief. It occurred to him that maybe Kouki had been worried that his so-called refined palate would not enjoy an unexceptional meal. Why would he think that, Seijuurou didn't know. They had been sharing the outstandingly average cafeteria meals twice a week for the past month, and yet Kouki was still concerned about his tastes. Whatever it was, he was pleased to see Kouki so relieved.

When they were finished with their main dishes, the waiter brought a list of available desserts.

"Oh! I didn't even know you could make tiramisu with tofu, I wonder what that's like! Sounds super fancy!" Kouki mused, glancing at the menu with curiosity.

"You should order one, I am sure it will not disappoint."

Kouki put the menu away, as if he was ashamed of letting that comment slip. He scratched the back of his head, looking quite troubled. "Ahhh, I think I'm too full for that, maybe some other time."

Seijuurou sighed. "If it is alright with you, we could order one and share it." he offered.

"Oh, that's a great idea!" Kouki replied cheerfully, and they called the waiter to place the order. The dessert didn't take long to arrive.

"Woah, this really looks super fancy!" Kouki commented as he picked up a piece of the pastry with a spoon and ate it. His eyes sparkled. "Ooooh, it's really, really delicious! You should try it too, Akashi-kun!"

Seijuurou complied and took a spoonful of the dessert. It was sweet, but not too much, and it had a soft, light texture. His stomach felt warm with the revelation of this magnificent dessert, and he immediately set to get another spoonful. Except that his spoon clinked against Furihata's and made a slight splatter of the dessert over the tablecloth. Seijuurou looked up to find Furihata blushing a deep crimson and retreating his own spoon immediately.

"I'm sorry, Akashi-kun, I was very careless and now you even got your shirt dirty!" he squeaked, mortified. Seijuurou looked down and saw that his sleeve had indeed gotten mildly splattered with the white substance. He dropped his spoon and grabbed a napkin to clean it. "I'll pay for the drycleaners, I'm truly sorry!" Kouki continued.

"Please do not apologize, it's nothing." He assured. The stain was barely even noticeable, the dry cleaning wouldn't really be costly. "I was not paying attention either. This dessert is very delicious, so if you continue agonizing over this, I will eat it all."

Kouki blushed slightly but his lips curled into a small, hesitant smile. "I-I like this too, I won't let Akashi-kun have it all." He declared, snatching a piece with his spoon and eating it with feigned defiance in his chocolate eyes.

Seijuurou chuckled. "We shall see about that." He said, and he too took another bite of the pastry, enjoying the light, flavorful feeling it left behind in his mouth. And yet he wasn't half as delighted with it as he was with the joyful glow of Kouki's expression.

 

* * *

 

As they climbed up the stairs to Kouki's dormitory, Seijuurou was dragging his feet, and he was very much aware of it. Just like he had been driving almost painfully slowly on the way back from the restaurant. He had worried that Kouki would notice and be irritated by it, but not a word of complaint was uttered. Instead, Kouki had continued to gush about how exciting the game had been, recounting it almost play-by-play. Seijuurou hadn't added much to the conversation, satisfied with relishing in Kouki's exhilaration.

It had been the right decision to allow Kouki to pay for their dinner. He had been ready to insist on the contrary when the check arrived –especially seeing how Kouki's fingers trembled as he reached for his wallet- but his thoughts had been interrupted before he could even open his mouth to voice them.

"If Akashi-kun even _thinks_ of offering to pay for this I'll be very upset." Kouki had said, his voice leveled, and when Seijuurou had looked into his eyes, he'd known that this was _important_ for him, that 'upset' was a heavy understatement of how he would truly feel. He didn't understand why it mattered so much (he would have to ask Reo later), but he'd decided to surrender right away. He could not allow for such a trifle matter to ruin what had so far been a perfect evening.

"That is the last thing I could possibly wish for." He had responded, laying both palms over the now empty table. "The purpose of this outing was to please you after all, and it would be a waste of such an outstanding dessert if the evening were to end on a sour note." He congratulated himself for being able to produce such a long sentence without losing his voice. The other goal of this 'date' was, after all, to get more acquainted with Kouki and to grow more comfortable to speak with him without making a fool out of himself.

Kouki had been obviously pleased with this quick concession (even as it was evident how reluctant he was to part with his money), and it carried on the drive back to the dorm buildings, which made Seijuurou seriously consider taking the long route back. But he also knew it would not do to test his luck too far or risk overstaying his welcome, so to speak. Kouki had a curfew, and Seijuurou knew how much he disliked troubling others, so even if he personally had the connections to make said curfew invalid, it was likely to cause Kouki discomfort, and Seijuurou would not allow for that to happen. Still, he could not help wanting to prolong their time together, even if it was by just a couple of minutes. What a troublesome contradiction, wanting to spend more time with someone, yet knowing this could possibly upset them, the complete opposite of what he wanted.

"Ah, this is it." Kouki said suddenly, in the middle of his third retelling of Aikawa's amazing final play.

Seijuurou looked up to find a door with the numbers 304 and two name plates to the side. One of them had Kouki's name, and the other one, Seijuurou didn't care to read. Kouki's name was, after all, too lovely to take his eyes off it.

"Did you know," he heard himself say, his brain not filtering the words before they left his mouth, his fingers tracing over the kanji on the nameplate "that originally, in Chinese, this 'ki' could also mean 'to grow' or 'to cultivate'? If you think about it then, Kouki could also mean 'to cultivate light'."

As soon as he finished digging his own grave, he wished he could launch himself off the nearest balcony. Why, why on Earth would he trust himself to speak his mind in this situation? He had now positively ruined everything by picking a too personal subject –and what could possibly be more personal than someone's given name?- and simultaneously evidencing the depths of his fascination. If he were half as absolute as he'd once thought himself to be, surely he could will himself to disappear from the surface of the Earth, never to inconvenience Kouki again with this shameful infatuation.

"I-I didn't know that." Kouki said, his voice thin, and Seijuurou noticed he was fidgeting with his fingers nervously. Oh how he loathe himself in this moment.

"I-I… Forgive me, that was o-out of place of me to say, I am… t-truly sorry."

Kouki waved his hands frantically in response. "N-no, no, it's okay!" he was trying so hard not to be rude, for sure, as a form of polite consideration for Seijuurou's feelings. It warmed his heart to know that, just as much as it made him feel even guiltier about his misstep "I… I think that's… beautiful." Bright crimson roses had blossomed on his cheeks, a most lovely sight for sure. "T-thanks for telling me, Akashi-kun."

Seijuurou's throat was dry. He wished to apologize even more profusely, but now he wasn't sure if it would be appropriate. Was Kouki truly pleased with what he had told him? Seijuurou couldn't fathom why he would be, but the shy smile on his lips seemed genuine. And, probably as punishment for growing too confident, he was now unable to even think of a single word to say. His heart was thundering loudly in his chest, too loudly. Kouki was probably able to hear it too at this point.

"I wonder if my parents knew, uhm… I mean I've always thought of asking them why they didn't just use a regular 'tree' for my name, would've been a lot easier to learn how to write it." He chuckled lightly. "Ah, my roommate isn't here, would you like to come in?"

As if there was not enough turmoil in Seijuurou's head, now he was also presented with an unspeakably tempting opportunity. His wish of enjoying Kouki's company for just a little longer was now within his reach, and with the offer of a quiet, intimate environment that could certainly help cultivate (perhaps not the most fortunate choice of word in this moment) the budding relationship he was trying to build with Kouki. And yet…

"I quite appreciate the kindness, but I would not wish to impose on you any longer, lest you grow tired of my company." He couldn't risk another mistake. He had been lucky in that his latest blunder had not upset Kouki, but there was no guarantee of such luck going forward. With his mind in such disarray, the smartest move was to retreat and regroup; end the evening on a positive note and start preparing for their next encounter. Perhaps he was going against Reo's advice of letting himself follow the flow, but that had proved a dangerous game to play. He would rather take smaller, safe steps, than making a grand leap and risk losing his footing.

"Ah, that's okay. I- I don't think Akashi-kun's imposing at all but I guess it _is_ kinda late. Ah, this place is also really cramped, I guess that wouldn't be comfortable at all, sorry." Kouki seemed disappointed. Seijuurou was puzzled by that, but he could not find the words to inquire. "Uhm, thanks a lot for today, I really never thought I'd see the Dragonflies take the championship with my own two eyes, and it was awesome!" the joyful sparkle took over Kouki's features again, to Seijuurou's pleasure.

"I am glad to know you enjoyed yourself, as I did so too." Studying stock phrases had definitely been the best decision he could have ever made.

"M-maybe we could d-do something like this some other time?"

Seijuurou's heart leaped to the base of his throat. It seemed Kouki had a talent for putting him in situations for which he had no stock phrases ready. Kouki looked nervous, but hopeful, and Seijuurou's brain was racing, trying to find an answer for this question (he knew the answer, it was an obvious one), but he was at a complete loss for words. He tried to remember what Reo had told him to do when he suffered from one of these Kouki-induced lapsus of stupidity (for there was no other way to describe his absolute inability to think straight), but that too, eluded him. His body temperature was rising, and he momentarily feared he would be unable to end this date on a positive note, since Kouki would have to take him to the hospital, lest he combusted on the spot. Then he remembered instantaneous combustion was but a ridiculous folly, as absurd and embarrassing as the absolute void in his brain.

"Uhm, sorry, I guess I'll see you on Tuesday? If you still want me to tutor you."

How Seijuurou detested himself. Kouki was now certain he had rejected his proposal, when all he wanted was to accept it. Oh, _that_ was the word.

"No, no,no, I, yes, a-a-accept."

Seijuurou didn't even dare look at Kouki now. His expression must be of absolute puzzlement. For sure, if someone would ever write the annals of incompetent communication throughout human history, this moment of his life would be featured amongst the most prominent ones.

"I would be, ah, delighted. T-to do this again, I mean, yes, to have another evening like tonight. And to be tutored by you too. On Tuesday, absolutely."

Instantly, the tension seemed to leave Kouki's body. Seijuurou was relieved that his otherwise unacceptable attempts at forming full sentences had at least had this positive effect.

"Okay, Tuesday same as always." Kouki confirmed, smiling once again.

As his eyes found Kouki's lips, basking in the beauty of their curve, he remembered something Reo had told him amongst the many pieces of advice he'd given him for tonight.

" _Depending on how it goes and if you eventually figure out that what you're doing is basic flirting, you could even try to kiss him."_

" _Kiss him?"_

" _Yeah, like in the movies? After a delightful and romantic date, you accompany your beloved to their doorstep, and as you reluctantly say your goodbyes, you give them a soft, tender kiss and you'll both be thinking of it until you go to sleep? It's a cliché because it works."_

At the moment he'd found the idea completely outrageous. He couldn't possibly kiss Kouki if he wasn't even sure of his own feelings and desires. Not to mention how rude it would be to kiss someone without their permission. He was also slightly ashamed to admit he had never kissed anyone before, and therefore, any memorable quality a kiss could have would only be negative. But at this moment, standing barely a step away from Kouki, entranced by the beauty of his smile, he felt himself itch for physicality. He could still feel the pressure of Kouki's fingers on his arm when the game had been at its climax, and the exhilarated embrace that had knocked the air out of his lungs, the rush of heat that had washed over his body, and how his skin had tingled, even through the fabric of their clothes. He wanted that sensation again. Maybe not a kiss, as that would be terribly inappropriate, but if only he could graze Kouki's crimson cheek with his fingers, maybe parting ways would not be as hard.

"Uhm, are you-"

It was at that moment that his eyes caught a small, almost insignificant trace of tiramisu on the corner of Kouki's lips. Surely it would be rude not to tell him about it and let him carry the blemish for the rest of the night, yet words continued to evade him. So he followed the only logical course of action and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to gently wipe the remnants of food. But the moment his finger made contact with Kouki's face –through the thin cloth, but contact nonetheless- a shock of electricity ran over his body and he inhaled sharply, feeling short of breath. Kouki gasped too, parting his lips slightly. Seijuurou allowed his thumb to linger on the edge of Kouki's mouth, but his index and middle fingers moved of their own accord, finding his jawline, finally with no fabric to get in the way of his desire to feel Kouki's skin on his.

_Breathe_ , he tried to tell himself when he started feeling lightheaded, but the beating of his heart was so tempestuous his lungs seemed unable to draw any oxygen in. If he allowed his fingers to move just a few millimeters more, he'd be able to feel Kouki's pulse. Was Kouki's heart beating as tumultuously as his? He ached to know. Yet, he dared not take that extra step, nor could he bring himself to gaze upon Kouki's eyes, scared to find fear or rejection in them. He was too aware of the boundaries he was overstepping after all, but he was as unable of pulling back as he was of breathing now.

A shaky exhale came from Kouki's mouth, his warm breath ghosting over Seijuurou's hand, and that sensation was enough to make his brain reconnect with his arm so he could pull it away. His fingers tingled, as if begging for more contact. For sure his hand would be numb for the rest of the night.

"I…" he swallowed thickly. He would strongarm some words out of his throat if he had to, he could not possibly allow for this nonsense to continue. "Forgive me, there was something on your face." He showed him the handkerchief, with the truly insignificant stain of brown powder to back up his statement.

"O-oh, thanks, I hadn't noticed."

Heavy silence hung over them. Seijuurou's heart was still threatening to fracture his ribs with its loud, violent pulsations.

"It is getting quite late, I should be leaving now." He heard himself say without thinking.

"Ah, yeah, you're right, it's been a long day, sorry for keeping you out so late."

"No, please do not apologize, I had not enjoyed myself quite so much in a very long time."

Ah, another misstep. He truly needed to make himself scarce as soon as possible before he accidentally blurted just how captivated he was by Kouki –if all his blunders in the last few minutes had not given that away yet-.

Unexpectedly, Kouki perked up, and his lips curled in a wide, cheerful grin. "Really? Me too!"

Seijuurou's heart swelled. For a moment, he could swear Kouki was surrounded by stars and flowers and sparkles.

"Thanks a lot for today, Akashi-kun. See you on Tuesday!"

"Yes, Tuesday." He managed to reply, even if his voice was hardly recognizable.

"And uhm… good night."

"For you as well. I hope you have pleasant dreams."

"Ah yes, thanks, Akashi-kun too."

There was another moment of heavy silence before Seijuurou took a reluctant step back and turned away from the door, his stomach aching the moment he could no longer lay eyes on Kouki's figure. He allowed himself one last moment of weakness as he tilted his head back to find Kouki smiling and waving at him faintly as he closed the door. He nodded in acknowledgement and then demanded that his body started moving away before he could embarrass himself any further.

The walk back to his own bedroom was short, for the whole time his mind was preoccupied revisiting all the smiles Kouki had graced him with, relishing in the way his heartrate accelerated when he recalled the feeling of Kouki's warmth, committing to memory the sensation of touching him, reminiscing the adrenaline that pumped through his veins when infected by Kouki's enthusiasm. There was no question about his feelings anymore, and in that regard too, this evening had been a success, even if his pride had been severely damaged by his own ridiculous awkwardness. He thought briefly of calling Reo to fill him in on the details and ask for further assistance, but he decided against it, choosing instead to bask in how wonderful tonight had been until sleep took over him.

**To be continued**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is2g that tofu restaurant exists and is pretty famous and it's in the Shibuya area (or maybe Shinjuku, I always mix them up), not that far from the Yoyogi Gym where the NBL/B.League (Japanese professional basketball is a mess?) games take place, but I didn't write down the name and now I've forgotten it. Never been to it though, can't give any worthwhile commentary on whether the food is actually good or not. This has been your weekly dose of worthless details that nobody cares about.
> 
> I probably had more to say (the above paragraph was written last week) but today's been… rough and I'm just not feeling it, but I'd promised with my immortal soul that I was gonna update this today so here it is. Please let me know what you think, I hope you guys enjoy it. Your comments would mean a lot to me right now.


	6. A friend is a brother you choose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seijuurou has finally figured out his feelings for Kouki, and he'll need Reo's help more than ever before to move forward

Kouki shut the door with trembling fingers and let out a long sigh of relief as his legs finally gave up on him, so he just let himself collapse on his knees, his face burning. It was a true feat that he'd managed to stay on his feet when his knees had been feeling like jello ever since Akashi-kun had told him that thing about his name. The look in his eyes had been so fond and tender, Kouki couldn't help the way his heart fluttered just remembering it. Why had Akashi-kun told him that? Maybe someone special to him had the same name? His heart clenched a little on that thought. It seemed unlikely but it would maybe explain why Akashi was suddenly so interested in him, when he'd never really seemed to pay him any mind back in high school.

Absentmindedly, he touched the corner of his mouth with his thumb, remembering how it felt when Akashi-kun had touched him, however briefly. His ears burned at the memory. He'd _almost_ felt himself whimper when Akashi-kun had pulled back.

He wasn't even sure of what he was doing at all. Of course Akashi-kun was attractive –the bastard had been blessed all around, it would seem- and he was also smart and charming and fun to talk to. It was hard to believe this was the same person that had told him to piss off while threatening him with a pair of scissors all those years ago. If someone had told him back then that he'd feel such an easy chemistry with Akashi Seijuurou, he would've thought they were messing with him.

Which brought him to his next concern. He hadn't really given it much thought before tonight, but was Akashi-kun trying to flirt with him? It kind of felt like he was, but he couldn't begin to imagine _why_ he would. And more importantly, he wasn't really sure of how he felt about the whole situation. Did he want Akashi-kun to flirt with him or not? And would he respond to it if he was? Maybe he was getting too carried away because tonight had been so outstandingly fun. It was just recently that he'd started to think of Akashi-kun as a friend and he enjoyed that feeling, there was no need to rush things.

He touched the corner of his mouth again. For a brief moment, he'd thought Akashi-kun was going to kiss him. And maybe a teeny, tiny little part of his mind had kind of hoped he would.

"Reo, I believe I am in love with Kouki after all."

His friend quirked one of his carefully plucked eyebrows. "Oh dear, is that so? How amazing, how surprising. Surely no one could have seen this development coming." he intoned, with absolutely no affectation in his voice.

Seijuurou was not amused. "Reo-" he warned, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm sorry, Sei-chan, I know you like doing things at your own pace, but I've been telling you the exact same thing for two months. You should trust me a little more in these things is all I'm saying. You've been completely lovestruck by that kid since day one and anyone with a working pair of eyes could see it."

"I know, and I never denied that I have been… very attracted to him, physically, from the beginning. However, I may not be an expert in the matters of the heart, but I am also aware that romantic love can not be based exclusively on physical appearances. I was just unsure if I would be so drawn to his soul as I am to his body."

Reo giggled. "Fine, point taken. But now you've got to tell me _everything_ about last night, every last detail of it, I won't be satisfied with less."

Seijuurou sighed. He had expected this to happen, and yet he'd hoped it wouldn't. A part of him wanted last night to remain a memory he shared with Kouki alone. And wouldn't it be intruding in Kouki's privacy to tell Reo about it? But now that he had no more doubts about his feelings, he needed even more assistance. He wanted to at least try to woo Kouki, but he didn't have the first clue of how to go about it without being overbearing. He certainly didn't want Kouki to feel pressured to return his affections, but neither did he want their current budding friendship to come undone due to his own feelings. He had to tread carefully, and he couldn't think of anyone better qualified than Reo for it.

He began retelling the events of last night, leaving no detail out in the hopes that Reo could get a better picture of the situation. His friend didn't offer any commentary, probably waiting to hear the whole thing to make an overall assessment. Seijuurou couldn't, however, stop himself from making a pause midway to ask about something that had been nagging him.

"He was very adamant about paying for dinner even though his economic means should certainly not allow him such a luxury. I am rather confused, Reo, why was that so important for him?"

His friend hummed a little. "Well, it's obvious, really. It's a matter of pride. Chihuahua-chan probably wanted to prove to you and himself that he can stand on equal grounds with you."

"On equal grounds?"

"I mean, think about it. There you are, the mighty Akashi Seijuurou: rich, powerful, intelligent, handsome, prodigious, and Chihuahua-chan is just… well, average—no, no, don't get mad Sei-chan, I don't mean it in a bad way- he's just not extraordinary, and you are. And he's surely aware of it. I'm just speculating here, but I'm sure he would've felt like you were looking down on him if you insisted on paying for everything."

"But that is—"

"I know, Sei-chan, I know you wouldn't mean it like that, but after getting him those premium seats for the game, it would've been a rather unbalanced date if you'd taken the check too."

"I'm afraid I'm not understanding."

Reo sighed. "Ok, just now you said something, right? About economic means?"

"Indeed, I do not believe he would regularly have the monetary leisure to indulge in a relatively costly dinner as last night's."

"That right there. You're looking down on him."

"I am most certainly not."

"You may not mean it, but you're judging his capabilities based on what you perceive to be his social standing."

"I was merely stating a fact."

"No, Sei-chan, it is not for you to say what Chihuahua-chan can afford and what he can't. That's exactly the point. If you're going to have a relationship –platonic or romantic- you have to look at him as your equal, not some penniless cute guy whose affections you want to buy. And you both need to have an active role in building the relationship. I'm also sure Chihuahua-chan didn't want to feel like the kind of guy who just makes friends with rich people to leech off of them. So it's for his pride but also for the sake of whatever relationship you're trying to have."

"But you let me pay for your cappuccinos all the time."

"Sure, but you _know_ I could pay for them if I wanted, I just see no shame in leeching off my rich best friend. Besides, I pay you back with all these priceless, life-saving advice. That's how _we_ work, it's not gonna be the same for him."

Seijuurou hummed pensively. He still didn't quite understand why it was such a big deal, but Reo's explanation was admittedly logical. Even if he had not voiced the thought in Kouki's presence, it had been rather impolite to make assumptions about his finances and how he ought to manage them. Surely it would have come off as condescending if he'd said something in that vein. It was slightly unsettling to know there were so many things he needed to be careful about, lest he offended Kouki due to an unfortunate misunderstanding.

"Understand now?"

He nodded. "I believe I do. At the very least, I am aware I should not do something that would harm Kouki's pride."

"That's a good boy. Now tell me the rest, you did walk him to his room, right?"

Reo's eyes were twinkling with curiosity. Seijuurou knew there was no power capable of making him change the subject when he had that look in his eyes. So he reluctantly recalled the events at Kouki's doorstep, and a shiver ran up his spine when he remembered how the skin-on-skin contact had felt. When he was finished speaking, Reo was staring at him with wide eyes and a horrified expression that made Seijuurou panic briefly. Had he done something that would ruin everything before anything even happened?

"Are you telling me you didn't kiss him?!" Reo winced, gaping.

Seijuurou was taken aback by how offended his friend's question sounded. "Of course not. That would have been inappropriate and disrespectful and harassing."

"But he let you touch his face! He didn't push you away or anything! For all you know he _wanted_ you to kiss him!"

"And for all I know, he may have been too confused or afraid to speak or act on what he might have felt. I am not conceding on this, Reo, the last thing I want is to cause Kouki any discomfort. I would rather proceed too slowly and be absolutely certain that Kouki wants the same things I do, than risk overstepping some boundaries and making him fear me again like he did in the past."

Reo sighed in defeat. "Alright, alright, I get it, you want to be a perfect gentleman."

"It is not about being a gentleman, but about respecting someone else's personal space and their body."

"Yes, yes, I understand, we'll do it your way. It's gonna take forever though. You do know I would've never gotten anywhere if I hadn't taken that daring first step, right?"

"That does not mean your method was the most appropriate one. The situation is also too different. It is impossible to tell what Mayuzumi-san is thinking at any given time, Kouki is much more transparent. I am fairly certain that the last thing in his mind at that moment was kissing. I am a patient man and I want to do this right. Will you still help me?"

Reo smiled at him fondly, a playful twinkle in his eyes.

"You'll have to buy me lots of cappuccinos, Sei-chan."

* * *

 

Seijuurou's heart hitched when he caught sight of Kouki waiting for him at their usual spot in the cafeteria. He clutched the flower bouquet to his chest and took a deep breath. He could do this. He had practiced and prepared.

Reo's first advice had been to try some traditional methods of courtship.

" _You just have to show him that you're interested without being too obvious, because that would scare him. You know, maybe a little thoughtful gift or a casual date that's just a little romantic but not too much._ "

Seijuurou had looked at his palms, trying to come up with an idea. " _I suppose I will have to call the pilot for this._ "

Reo had spat his coffee, droplets landing on Seijuurou's shirt. " _P-pilot?! What're you talking about?!_ "

Seijuurou looked up at his friend, confused. " _Well, Kouki said he is interested in wildlife conservation, so taking him to a natural reservation would certainly make for an ideal date. Ah, but I am not sure of which type of wildlife he likes. It would be a mistake to go to the Amazonian if he—_ "

" _Stop. Stop, stop, stop_." Reo had gasped, still catching his breath and coughing. " _You're thinking way too big, you're gonna scare the living daylights out of him if you suddenly propose to hop on a plane and fly to a jungle on the other side of the globe_."

" _I see. You might be right; a trip to the wild might be too adventurous. He did say he enjoyed shopping, so perhaps New York would be more-"_

" _Sei-chan, no!_ "

" _If that is not suitable then perhaps Paris woul-_ "

" _NO_!"

" _But_ —"

Reo had thrown his hands in the air, exasperated. " _No. Shush. Stop it. Seriously, shush_." He'd sighed, and there was a sort of dread in his expression that had puzzled Seijuurou. " _This is gonna be harder than I expected, oh dear._ " He'd covered his face with his palms and sighed again. " _The things I do for you, Sei-chan_."

According to Reo (and Seijuurou did not understand this at all), inviting Kouki to a "dream date" was not the right course of action at this point, at least not if it involved going to a different city, let alone a different continent. Giving a gift that cost more than four figures was apparently unacceptable too ("I know that look in your eyes, Sei-chan, and I don't care if he said he needs to buy a new jacket for winter, you are _not_ buying him an Armani"). Reo claimed that, at this early stage of courtship, and for someone of Kouki's personality and upbringing, keeping it simple and personal was the most advisable ("We just had a long talk about standing on equal ground, this shouldn't be hard to understand"). He was supposed to take the information he had about the things Kouki liked and prove that he had listened and taken them into account.

" _See, the basketball tickets were a perfect idea. I'm just amazed that you could come up with something so good and then start thinking about some African Safari the next moment, I can't believe you_."

Seijuurou had felt slightly humiliated, but had chosen not to mention that. It was not his fault that he lacked expertise in this field, it was the one thing his father's rigorous training had not prepared him for.

The things Kouki liked were wildlife, omelette rice, botany (his parents owned a flower shop), basketball, libraries (particularly the smell of old books) and trains. At that was the reason he was now holding a flower bouquet, small and simple, while approaching Kouki with hesitant steps.

"Oh, hello Akashi-kun!"

Seijuurou's blood froze in his veins. This was absurd, he had already somehow mastered the ability to not act like a complete fool in Kouki's presence, so why was he getting so wretchedly nervous now? He was just going to give him flowers and have a pleasant conversation over lunch as usual.

"Good… good afternoon. I apologize for my tardiness."

Kouki shook his head, an easy smile on his lips. "No worries, I got here earlier since my molecular biology class was canceled last minute. "

"Oh. I see."

There was a moment of awkward silence in which Seijuurou forgot what he had planned to say. He felt horrified. Had he gone back to square one? Why? Had all his previous progress been but an illusion? Was he doomed to being his most embarrassing self in front of the object of his affections for the rest of his life?

He caught Kouki's eyes observing him with curiosity and falling to the flowers in his hands.

"Uhm… th-these are for you." He finally managed to say, all but thrusting the flowers in Kouki's direction. Kouki grabbed the flowers, confusion and bewilderment flashing through his eyes briefly before his expression showed recognition.

"Really? Thank you, these are lovely!"

Seijuurou breathed a sigh of relief. So this had not been the wrong choice after all. "It is nothing, just a small token of appreciation for all your assistance. You did mention you liked flowers before. Th-the bluebell is supposed to represent 'gratitude' and the acacias,'friendship', but I am not that well-versed in _hanakotoba_ so that might not be correct." The last part was a lie. Perhaps an unnecessary one. He had been very careful in choosing the flowers for this simple arrangement to make sure they conveyed a message Kouki would appreciate, while also hiding a more revealing confession of Seijuurou's feelings. But pretending he didn't know would clear him of suspicion even if Kouki did find out about the secret message.

Kouki looked genuinely surprised. "That's actually… very sweet, thank you. I'm a little glad to hear you don't know about it, since the sweetpea here means 'goodbye', that would've… made me a little sad to be honest." As he continued to scan over the flowers, his cheeks grew a little pink. "Ah, but the yellow tulip stands for 'unrequited love' so that would be a little contradictory maybe." He laughed a little, nervously.

Seijuurou felt his insides burn with embarrassment. He had been so focused in hiding the true message of the flowers that he had forgotten some of the double meanings. Like the yellow tulip, that in the Victorian flower language conveyed the message of "there is sunshine in your smile", which Seijuurou found extremely fitting for Kouki. Or the acacia blossoms that did represent friendship, but also "concealed love". He hadn't wanted to let Kouki catch on to his intentions, and yet he had accidentally laid the truth out in the open out of carelessness. At the same time, he couldn't help feeling just the slightest bit joyful, knowing Kouki would be saddened if they were to part ways permanently.

"Oh, I-I… apologize." He finally managed to say, forcing the turmoil in his mind out of the way. "I was… unaware of that. The… yes, the florist suggested the combination because the colors made a good match." One more lie. He had, in fact, been extremely specific about the flowers he wanted, and the florist had been nothing but accommodating (and also, perhaps, a little impertinent, asking uncomfortable questions about the 'lucky lady' that would be receiving 'such a loving present from a very handsome young man'). "I hope you will not feel uncomfortable with it."

"Not at all, don't worry, quite the contrary in fact." Kouki responded, sniffing the flowers with a pleasant smile on his lips "She was right, these _do_ look very beautiful together. I'm sending a picture to mom, she'll love it." He took out his phone and snatched a quick photograph before putting it away again. "You know, when I was little we always had lots flowers around the house, so since I moved out it feels weird not having any. Like there's not enough color around me. But my room isn't very big, so I can't really fit more than one small vase inside, and I haven't even had time to go get some, so this is just perfect. Now I'll feel a little bit more at home, thank you."

Seijuurou's heart swelled as he finally managed to sit down. His hands were still shaking a little, but his lips were actually pulled into a small smile.

* * *

 

For the next two weeks, following Reo's advice, he had continued to drop occasional, casual presents for Kouki, nothing too grandiose. One day he'd brought in a bookmark that looked like ancient parchment. Another day, after Kouki lamented how the flowers had already withered, he'd brought a potted primrose plant.

"I…I read that these are easy to grow indoors. They have not bloomed yet, but they are supposed to have colorful blossoms. You… you mentioned you missed that from your home, forgive me if it's inappropriate."

Kouki had smiled brightly. "Stop saying that, Akashi-kun, it's perfect." And Seijuurou had felt his heart melt on the spot.

He hadn't brought a gift today. Reo had instructed to time the presents carefully. They had to be "casual in a "I saw it and thought of you" kind of way", in Reo's own words. This would make it noticeable that Kouki was in his thoughts constantly, but it would not make him look like an "obsessive stalker", again, in Reo's words.

He felt very confident with the progress he had achieved so far. Their conversations now flowed more naturally. Even if he was still as nervous as could be when they spoke, words were coming to him much more easily. He also noticed Kouki seemed more relaxed in his presence. When this had all started, he acted as if he was still expecting Seijuurou to lash out at him at any moment, but that tension had now dissipated. It was rather encouraging to know he was slowly earning Kouki's trust.

Seijuurou also found himself less and less forced to use stock phrases or to pull from his repertoire of topics related to the classes he was still not taking. Their conversations now veered to other topics of genuine common interest. Still it made him feel at ease to have a backup in case of one of his infamous flounders.

"Say, Akashi-kun, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

And it was when Kouki started asking questions that he was more prone to make mistakes, so he prepared himself mentally to tell of the student that had accidentally fabricated a stink bomb in case he happened to blurt out something compromising.

"I wouldn't mind."

Kouki seemed a little nervous. Which in turn made Seijuurou concerned about what kind of question he would be asked.

"I've always kind of wondered why Akashi-kun always eats in the cafeteria. Uhm… I mean, I always imagined…"

"You thought I would have a personal chef cooking all my meals for me?" Seijuurou asked, more for confirmation than anything else, while breathing a sigh of relief. This was a question he _could_ answer without tripping over his own words.

"Sorry, is that an offensive thing to ask? I'm just a little curious but—"

"I've been asking him the same thing for years, Furi-chan, if you would believe that."

Out of nowhere, Reo sat down on a chair next to Kouki, a tired look on his face.

Kouki yelped, almost jumping out of his seat. "O-oh, M-Mibuchi-san! L-long time no see!"

"Reo, would you mind explaining what brings you here?"

Reo gave him a laconic look, his chin resting on his arms, crossed on the table. "We never eat lunch together anymore, Sei-chan, that's cruel!"

Kouki yelped again. "I-I'm really sorry, I didn't realize I was taking up so much of Akashi-kun's time. I-I-I'll take my leave now, I'm very sorry, I—"

"No, please, Furihata, that will not be necessary." Seijuurou sighed and turned to Reo. "You had a fight with Mayuzumi-san." He stated matter-of-factly. He knew these signs too well to confuse them for anything else.

Reo huffed and looked away.

"If you need some time alone I—"

"It's okay, Furi-chan, you don't have to leave. It's the first time in ages that Sei-chan makes a new friend, no way am I getting in the way of that." Reo intoned, although he was still sulking.

Seijuurou sighed again and pulled out his wallet. "Reo, would you mind bringing me a can of coffee from the vending machine?" he asked, giving him a thousand yen note. Reo perked up just a little, took the money and walked away, dragging his feet.

"Uhm, are you sure you don't need some privacy? I don't really understand but it looks like Mibuchi-san needs someone to talk to."

"Please do not worry. This is far from unusual, he will be fine. The vending machine is right next to the coffee stall where he buys his cappuccino with double serving of whipped cream for these precise occasions. I did give him enough money for that." This was not the first time Reo had a dip in his mood due to Mayuzumi-san. At this point it was pretty much a ritual to ask him for a can of coffee (which Seijuurou didn't even like, they were dreadful), just so he could get his consolation cappuccino. "Reo and Mayuzumi-san have been… involved, romantically for a few years now. They are… stable, for lack of a better word, but Mayuzumi-san is perhaps not as… I think affectionate is the best way of saying it. Yes, he is not as affectionate as he could be. And Reo, well, he is rather emotionally demanding. This happens all the time. Judging by Reo's mood right now, I calculate Mayuzumi-san will be emailing me in about twenty minutes, and he will feign disinterest while trying to obtain information on Reo's state of mind. Then he will call Reo to apologize… I believe in about seventy-four minutes. Everything will go back to normal then, I assure you."

Kouki was looking at him with a mix of curiosity and a twinge of fondness in his eyes. It was odd and made his heart race.

"Is there… something wrong?" he managed to ask, suddenly self-conscious about holding Kouki's gaze.

Kouki shook his head, smiling a little. "It's nothing. I was just thinking that Akashi-kun is very kind to his friends. I think it's very sweet that you look after them when they need you."

Seijuurou found himself smiling to that too. "It is the least I can do. Both Reo and Mayuzumi-san have always been very patient with me. Reo helps me a lot dealing with my own shortcomings. I treated them both very poorly in the past and they still remained my friends in spite of that. I appreciate them for that. I will gladly do whatever it takes to help them. Buying Reo coffee and helping Mayuzumi-san come to terms with things he already knows is hardly a bother." His friends were like family to him. In them he had found love and understanding when there was none at home. And he knew that, in spite of their frequent fights, Mayuzumi-san and Reo did make each other happy.

A can of coffee materialized in front of Seijuurou "I'm still waiting for you to answer Furi-chan's question. Like, the fact that you drink this garbage makes me question your sense of taste altogether." Reo said as he plopped down on a chair, already halfway through the double whipped cream on his cappuccino. He looked like his mood had improved considerably in the five minutes he had been away, which confirmed Seijuurou's suspicion about this being one of their usual, meaningless fights.

"I am certain that I have answered that question for you before." Seijuurou stated, as if nothing had happened, ignoring the coffee with all his might and glancing at Reo from the corner of his eye. "I believe the cook here, Oomi-san, is superbly skilled. I like the food quite a lot."

Kouki appeared to be mystified by this response.

"You assumed I would have a more exquisite taste, I guess."

He blushed and waved his hands nervously. "N-n-no I didn't mean it that way, I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize, Furi-chan, anyone would expect Mr. Absolute here to be more demanding when it comes to food. I'm not saying the food here's bad, but geez, you could do so much better. I remember your father had a special chef cooking for you in the dorms at Rakuzan; now _those_ were the days."

Seijuurou took a spoonful from his meal –it was the D menu today, simple curry with rice and salad as a side-dish- and savored it slowly before replying. "I would not dismiss Ajihara-san's culinary expertise, but he was, after all, my father's employee, and never went beyond that. I prefer Oomi-san's simpler style because she is devoted to her work and to make sure students enjoy a delicious and healthy meal. It has a… gentle quality to it that I find much more fulfilling."

When he looked up, he saw both Kouki and Reo looking at him, both of them awestruck. Kouki glanced briefly at his now empty plate, as if he were seeing it under a new light, his cheeks glowing in light pink. He was about to ask them if he had said something strange –perhaps he had inadvertently committed one of his usual missteps and spoken too much- but Kouki's wristwatch beeped at that moment, making him jump off his chair.

"Damn, I've got to run to my next class! I'm sorry, I'll see you tomorrow to study? Same time?"

Seijuurou felt slightly dispirited by Kouki's departure, but he nodded nonetheless. "Of course, as usual."

"Great, see you then." He picked up his belongings "Oh, and I hope everything turns out alright, Mibuchi-san." He added, grabbing his food tray to take it back to the counter.

"Thanks, Furi-chan, I appreciate it. Have nice day."

"Same for you two, bye!"

Seijuurou followed him with his eyes, already feeling the longing in his chest as he disappeared into the crowd.

Reo hummed in appreciation. "See, that right there was perfect."

"What do you mean by that?"

His friend sent him a knowing smile. "Well, you just showed him your more sensitive, down-to-earth side. I'm sure Furi-chan's opinion of you has changed a lot, and for the better, now that he knows you can appreciate the simpler things and the effort people put into their work."

Realization dawned on him as his heart sped up. "I thought for a moment I had made a mistake."

"Oh no, it's the complete opposite! And you did it naturally too, which is even better."

Seijuurou found himself smiling with relief and a little bit of hope. He placed his hand over his chest and breathed in deeply, willing his heart back to its natural speed.

"But really, that Furi-chan is super sweet. The more I know him, the more I'm convinced he's a good match for you, so you mustn't give up no matter what."

"Thank you, Reo, your support means a lot to me. I certainly do not intend to renounce halfway. I too am convinced that we could… be more compatible than it would appear at first glance."

"You know you'll always have my support if it's something that makes you happy, Sei-chan."

When Seijuurou turned to meet Reo's eyes, he found them brimming with tenderness. It made him feel something warm and pleasant in his chest. Sometimes Reo reminded him a little of his mother, although he himself didn't completely understand why. Or perhaps this was what having an older brother would feel like.

His cellphone beeped.

**[New text message]**

[ **From** : Mayuzumi Chihiro]

He glanced at the time on the screen and smiled to himself. Exactly twenty minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even have an excuse, I've had this chapter written for months and was too lazy to edit it. Sorry that it took so long and ended being mostly MayuMibu, but I wanted to highlight the importance of Reo's friendship for Akashi.
> 
> I can't even promise when the next update is coming because I have very little of it written. I have a general outline and know how this story would end, it probably needs 3 or 4 more chapters to get there, but I won't lie and say it's hard to keep my hands away from Yuri on Ice. But I have every intention to complete this, even if it takes a while, so I'll be grateful for your patience and support. And I hope above all that you enjoy this chapter like the others.
> 
> If you enjoy my writing and want to know more about it/send me some love, you can hmu @ [my tumblr](https://lia-nikiforov.tumblr.com). Comments are always the most encouraging kind of support! ~~if you're wondering why you're seeing this copy-pasted everywhere it's because I had to edit shit out due to a good samaritan report hahahaha~~

**Author's Note:**

> So I decided I had enough material to start publishing since this obviously is not going to be a one-shot anymore (I have 23K words and I'm only halfway done ;-;) If you've been following me on tumblr for a while you'll note most of this I had already posted as little previews back when I was still young and full of dreams and delusions (or when I thought the whole story was gonna be 6K hahahahaha). Sides, I'm a little stuck on Misery and I had a little resurgence of inspiration for this one.  
> I don't usually do straight up comedy (y'all who've been reading me for a while know I'm more prone to angst) so this is kind of uncharted territory for me, hope it's okay. I have a lot of fun writing Akashi's loser thought process and Reo suffering for it.
> 
> Let me know what you think so far. Can't say I'll have a regular update schedule since recently my writing process is kinda hectic, but I've gotten new impetus for this story recently, so hopefully I'll upload next chapter in two or three weeks.


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